Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/127

 imprisonment for public officials who solicit or obtain bribes. The wire fraud statute, in turn, imposes up to twenty years imprisonment for public officials who breach the public trust by depriving them of their honest services. President Trump's violation of both statutes is further evidence of the egregious nature of his abuse of power.

Starting with the federal anti-bribery statute, criminal bribery occurs when a public official (1) "demands [or] seeks" (2) "anything of value personally," (3) "in return for being influenced in the performance of any official act." Additionally, the public official must carry out these actions (4) "corruptly." We address the four statutory elements in turn.

i."Demands" or "Seeks"

The evidence before the Committee makes clear that the President solicited from the President of Ukraine a public announcement that he would undertake two politically motivated investigations. That conduct satisfies the actus reus element of bribery under the federal criminal code. Section 201 prohibits a wide variety of solicitations, including solicitations that are "indirect[]." Courts have concluded that a bribe was solicited, for example, where a public official with authority to award construction contracts requested that a contractor "take a look at the roof" of the official's home. Notably, where the other elements are met, the statutory offense of bribery is complete upon the demand—even if the thing of value is not provided. That is because "the purpose of the statute is to discourage one from seeking an advantage by attempting to influence a public official to depart from conduct deemed essential to the public interest."

President Trump solicited from President Zelensky a public announcement that he would conduct two politically motivated investigations into President Trump's political rival and into discredited claims about election interference in 2016. These demands easily constitute solicitation under federal law. To begin with, the President's improper solicitation is apparent in the record of his July 25 phone call with President Zelensky. As the record makes clear, after President Zelensky raised the issue of United States military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump immediately responded: "I