Current through P.L. 107-293 (excluding P.L. 107-273,
107-279) approved 11-13-02
(a) For the purpose of this section--
(1) the term "public
official" means Member of Congress, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner,
either before or after such official has qualified, or an officer or employee
or person acting for or on behalf of the United States, or any department,
agency or branch of Government thereof, including the District of Columbia, in
any official function, under or by authority of any such department, agency, or
branch of Government, or a juror;
(2) the term "person who has been
selected to be a public official" means any person who has been nominated
or appointed to be a public official, or has been officially informed that such
person will be so nominated or appointed;
and
(3) the term "official act"
means any decision or action on any question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding
or controversy, which may at any time be pending, or which may by law be
brought before any public official, in such official's official capacity, or in
such official's place of trust or profit.
(1) directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers or
promises anything of value to any public official or person who has been
selected to be a public official, or offers or promises any public official or
any person who has been selected to be a public official to give anything of
value to any other person or entity, with intent--
(A) to influence any official act; or
(B) to influence such public official or person who has been
selected to be a public official to commit or aid in committing, or collude in,
or allow, any fraud, or make opportunity for the commission of any fraud, on
the United States; or
(C) to induce such public official or such person who has been
selected to be a public official to do or omit to do any act in violation of
the lawful duty of such official or person;
(2) being a public official or person selected to be a public
official, directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts,
or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally or for any other
person or entity, in return for:
(A) being influenced in the performance of any official act;
(B) being influenced to commit or aid in committing, or to
collude in, or allow, any fraud, or make opportunity for the commission of any
fraud, on the United States; or
(C) being induced to do or omit to do any act in violation of
the official duty of such official or person;
(3) directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers, or
promises anything of value to any person, or offers or promises such person to
give anything of value to any other person or entity, with intent to influence
the testimony under oath or affirmation of such first-mentioned person as a
witness upon a trial, hearing, or other proceeding, before any court, any
committee of either House or both Houses of Congress, or any agency,
commission, or officer authorized by the laws of the United States to hear
evidence or take testimony, or with intent to influence such person to absent
himself therefrom;
(4) directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks,
receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally
or for any other person or entity in return for being influenced in testimony
under oath or affirmation as a witness upon any such trial, hearing, or other
proceeding, or in return for absenting himself therefrom;
shall be fined under this title
or not more than three times the monetary equivalent of the thing of value,
whichever is greater, or imprisoned for not more than fifteen years, or both,
and may be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit
under the United States.
(1) otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge
of official duty--
(A) directly or indirectly gives, offers, or promises anything
of value to any public official, former public official, or person selected to
be a public official, for or because of any official act performed or to be
performed by such public official, former public official, or person selected
to be a public official; or
(B) being a public official, former public official, or person
selected to be a public official, otherwise than as provided by law for the
proper discharge of official duty, directly or indirectly demands, seeks,
receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally
for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by such
official or person;
(2) directly or indirectly, gives, offers, or promises
anything of value to any person, for or because of the testimony under oath or
affirmation given or to be given by such person as a witness upon a trial,
hearing, or other proceeding, before any court, any committee of either House
or both Houses of Congress, or any agency, commission, or officer authorized by
the laws of the United States to hear evidence or take testimony, or for or
because of such person's absence therefrom;
(3) directly or indirectly, demands, seeks, receives, accepts,
or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of
the testimony under oath or affirmation given or to be given by such person as
a witness upon any such trial, hearing, or other proceeding, or for or because
of such person's absence therefrom;
shall be fined under this title
or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
(d) Paragraphs
(3) and (4) of subsection (b) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c) shall
not be construed to prohibit the payment or receipt of witness fees provided by
law, or the payment, by the party upon whose behalf a witness is called and
receipt by a witness, of the reasonable cost of travel and subsistence incurred
and the reasonable value of time lost in attendance at any such trial, hearing,
or proceeding, or in the case of expert witnesses, a reasonable fee for time
spent in the preparation of such opinion, and in appearing and testifying.
(e) The offenses
and penalties prescribed in this section are separate from and in addition to
those prescribed in sections 1503, 1504, and 1505 of this title.
CREDIT(S)
2000 Main Volume
(Added Pub.L. 87-849, § 1(a),
Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1119, and amended Pub.L. 91-405, Title II, § 204(d) (1),
Sept. 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 853; Pub.L.
99-646, § 46(a)-(l), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3601-3604; Pub.L. 103-322, Title XXXIII, §§ 330011(b),
330016(2)(D), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2144, 2148.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Revision
Notes and Legislative Reports
1962 Acts. Senate Report No. 2213, see
1962 U.S. Code Cong. and Adm. News, p. 3852.
1970 Acts. Senate Report No. 91-1122,
see 1970 U.S. Code Cong. and Adm. News, p. 3833.
1986 Acts. House Report No. 99-797,
see 1986 U.S. Code Cong. and Adm. News, p. 6138.
1994 Acts. House Report Nos. 103-324
and 103-489, and House Conference Report No. 103-711, see 1994 U.S. Code Cong.
and Adm. News, p. 1801.
Codifications
Section 330016(2)(D) of Pub.L.
103-322, directing that this section be amended by inserting "under this
title or" after "be fined" and by inserting "whichever is
greater," before "or imprisoned", was executed to subsec. (b) of
this section, rather than subsec. (c) of this section, as the probable intent
of Congress.
A prior § 201, Act June 25, 1948, c.
645, 62 Stat. 691, which prescribed penalties for anyone who offered or gave
anything of value to an officer or other person to influence his decisions, was
eliminated in the general amendment of this chapter by Pub.L. 87-849, and is
substantially covered by revised § 201.
Amendments
1994 Amendments. Subsec. (b). Pub.L. 103-322, § 330016(2)(D), directed
that this section be amended by inserting "under this title or" after
"be fined" and by inserting "whichever is greater," before
"or imprisoned". Amendment
was executed to subsec. (b) of this section, rather than subsec. (c) of this
section, as the probable intent of Congress.
1986 Amendments. Text. Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(1), directed that the
margins of each subsection, paragraph, and subparagraph of this section are to
be flush, indented 2ems, and indented 4ems, respectively.
Subsec. (a). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(a), substituted "section--" for
"section:", designated provision defining "public official"
as par. (1), and in par. (1) as so designated, inserted "the term"
after "(1)" and substituted "Delegate" for "Delegate
from the District of Columbia", "after such official has
qualified" for "after he has qualified", and "juror;"
for "juror; and", designated
provision defining defining "person who has been selected to be a public
official" as par. (2), and in par. (2) as so designated, inserted
"the term" after "(2)" and substituted "such
person" for "he", and designated provision defining
"official act" as par. (3), and in par. (3) as so designated,
inserted "the term" after "(3)" and substituted "in
such official's official capacity, or in such official's" for "in his
official capacity, or in his".
Subsec. (b). Pub.L. 99-646, §
46(b)(1), as amended Pub.L. 103-322, § 330011(b)(A), substituted
"Whoever" for "Whoever," and inserted par. (1) designation
preceding "directly".
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(b), as amended Pub.L.
103-322, § 330011(b), substituted "(1) directly" for
"directly", redesignated pars. (1) to (3) as subpars. (A) to (C) and
adjusted the margins to a 6em indent, and in subpar. (C) as so redesignated,
substituted "the lawful duty of such official or person;" for
"his lawful duty, or".
Subsec. (b)(2). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(c), redesignated former
subsec. (c) as par. (2), and in par. (2) as so redesignated, struck out
"Whoever," preceding "being", substituted "corruptly
demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of
value personally" for "corruptly asks, demands, exacts, solicits,
seeks, accepts, receives, or agrees to receive anything of value for
himself", redesignated pars. (1) to (3) as subpars. (A) to (C) and
adjusted the margins to a 4em indent, in subpar. (A) as so redesignated,
substituted "the performance" for "his performance", and in
subpar. (C) as so redesignated, substituted "the official duty of such
official or person" for "his official duty; or".
Subsec. (b)(3). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(d), redesignated former
subsec. (d) as par. (3), and in par. (3) as so redesignated, substituted
"directly" for "Whoever, directly" and
"therefrom;" for "therefrom;
or".
Subsec. (b)(4). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(e), redesignated former
subsec. (e) as par. (4), and in par. (4) as so redesignated, substituted
"directly" for "Whoever, directly", "demands, seeks,
receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value
personally" for "asks, demands, exacts, solicits, seeks, accepts,
receives, or agrees to receive anything of value for himself", "in
testimony" for "in his testimony", "therefrom;" for
"therefrom--", "shall be fined not more than" for
"Shall be fined not more than $20,000 or", and "thing of
value," for "thing of value, whichever is greater,".
Subsec. (c)(1). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(f), (g), redesignated
former subsec. (f) as par. (1), and in par. (1) as so redesignated, substituted
"(1) otherwise" for ", otherwise" and "(A)
directly" for ", directly", redesignated former subsec. (g) as
subpar. (B), and in subpar. (B) as so redesignated, substituted
"being" for "Whoever, being", "indirectly demands,
seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value
personally" for "indirectly asks, demands, exacts, solicits, seeks,
accepts, receives, or agrees to receive anything of value for himself",
and "by such official or person" for "by him; or".
Former subsec. (c) redesignated as subsec. (b)(2).
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(h), redesignated former
subsec. (h) as par. (2), and in par. (2) as so redesignated, substituted
"directly" for "Whoever, directly" and "such person's
absence therefrom;" for "his absence therefrom; or".
Former subsec. (c) redesignated as subsec. (b)(2).
Subsec. (c)(3). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(i), redesignated former
subsec. (i) as par. (3), and in par. (3) as so redesignated, substituted
"directly" for "Whoever, directly", "demands, seeks,
receives, accepts, or agrees to accept" for "asks, demands, exacts,
solicits, seeks, accepts, receives, or agrees to receive or accept",
"personally" for "for himself", "by such person"
for "by him", "such person's absence therefrom;" for
"his absence therefrom--", and "shall be fined under this
title" for "Shall be fined not more than $10,000". Former subsec. (c) redesignated as subsec.
(b)(2).
Subsec. (d). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(j),
redesignated former subsec. (j) as (d), and in subsec. (d) as so redesignated,
substituted "Paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (b) and paragraphs (2)
and (3) of subsection (c)" for "Subsections (d), (e), (h), and
(i)" and struck out "involving a technical or professional
opinion," after "expert witnesses,". Former subsec. (d) redesignated as subsec. (b)(3).
Subsec. (e). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(k),
redesignated former subsec. (k) as (e).
Former subsec. (e) redesignated as subsec. (b)(4).
Subsec. (f). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(f),
redesignated subsec. (f) as subsec. (c)(1).
Subsec. (g). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(g),
redesignated subsec. (g) as subsec. (c)(1)(B).
Subsec. (h). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(h),
redesignated subsec. (h) as subsec. (c)(2).
Subsec. (i). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(i),
redesignated subsec. (i) as subsec. (c)(3).
Subsec. (j). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(j),
redesignated subsec. (j) as (d).
Subsec. (k). Pub.L. 99-646, § 46(k),
redesignated subsec. (k) as (e).
1970 Amendments. Subsec. (a). Pub.L. 91-405 included Delegate from
District of Columbia in definition of "public official".
Effective
and Applicability Provisions
1994 Acts. Section 330011(b) of Pub.L.
103-322 provided in part that the amendment made by such section, amending
directory language of section 46(b) of Pub.L. 99-646 (which amended subsec. (b)
of this section), was to take effect as of the date on which section 46(b) of
Pub.L. 99-646 took effect; for such
effective date, see section 46(m) of Pub.L. 99-646, set out as a note under
this section.
1986 Acts. Section 46(m) of Pub.L.
99-646 provided that: "The
amendments made by this section [to this section] shall take effect 30 days
after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 10, 1986]."
1970 Acts. Amendment by Pub.L. 91-405
effective on Sept. 22, 1970, see section 206(b) of Pub.L. 91-405, summarized in
a note set out under section 25a of Title 2, The Congress.
1962 Acts. Section 4 of Pub.L. 87-849
provided that: "This Act [adding
sections 201 to 209, and 218 of this title, redesignating sections 214, 215,
217 to 222 as 210, 211, 212 to 217 of this title respectively, repealing
sections 223, 281 to 284, 434, and 1914 of this title, and section 99 of Title
5, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 281 and 282 of this
title] shall take effect ninety days after the date of its enactment [Oct. 23,
1962]."
Prior
Provisions
Provisions similar to those comprising
this section were contained in former §§ 201 to 213 of this title, prior to the
general amendment of this chapter by Pub.L. 87-849.
Short
Title
1996 Amendments. Pub.L. 104-177, § 1,
Aug. 6, 1996, 110 Stat. 1563, provided that:
"This Act [amending section 205 of this title] may be cited as the
'Federal Employee Representation Improvement Act of 1996'."
1986 Amendments. Pub.L. 99-370, § 1,
Aug. 4, 1986, 100 Stat. 779, provided that:
"This Act [amending section 215 of this title and enacting a
provision set out as a note under section 215 of this title] may be cited as
the 'Bank Bribery Amendments Act of 1985'."
Canal
Zone
Applicability of section to Canal
Zone, see § 14 of this title.
EXECUTIVE
ORDERS
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 11222
Ex. Ord. No. 11222, May 8, 1965, 30
F.R. 6469, as amended Ex. Ord. No. 11590, Apr. 23, 1971, 36 F.R. 7831; Ex. Ord. 12107, Dec. 28, 1978, 44 F.R. 1055;
Ex. Ord. No. 12565, Sept. 25, 1986, 51
F.R. 34437, which related to standards of ethical conduct for government
officers and employees, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12674, Apr. 12, 1989, 54
F.R. 15159, as amended set out as a note under section 7301 of Title 5,
Government Organization and Employees.
Ex. Ord. No. 12565, which amended Ex. Ord. No. 11222, was also revoked
by Ex. Ord. No. 12674.
MEMORANDUM OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
REGARDING CONFLICT OF INTEREST PROVISIONS OF PUBLIC LAW 87-849
< Feb. 1, 1963, 28 F.R. 985 >
< January 28, 1963 >
Public Law 87-849, "To strengthen
the criminal laws relating to bribery, graft, and conflicts of interest, and
for other purposes," came into force January 21, 1963. A number of departments and agencies of the
Government have suggested that the Department of Justice prepare and distribute
a memorandum analyzing the conflict of interest provisions contained in the new
act. I am therefore distributing the
attached memorandum.
One of the main purposes of the new
legislation merits specific mention.
That purpose is to help the Government obtain the temporary or
intermittent services of persons with special knowledge and skills whose
principal employment is outside the Government. For the most part the conflict of interest statutes superseded by
Public Law 87-849 imposed the same restraints on a person serving the
Government temporarily or intermittently as on a full-time employee, and those
statutes often had an unnecessarily severe impact on the former. As a result, they impeded the departments
and agencies in the recruitment of experts for important work. Public Law 87-849 meets this difficulty by
imposing a lesser array of prohibitions on temporary and intermittent employees
than on regular employees. I believe
that a widespread appreciation of this aspect of the new law will lead to a
significant expansion of the poll of talent on which the departments and
agencies can draw for their special needs.
Robert F. Kennedy,
Attorney
General.
Memorandum re the
Conflict of Interest Provisions of Public Law 87-849, 76 Stat. 1119, Approved
October 23, 1962
Introduction
Public Law 87-849, which came into
force January 21, 1963, affected seven statutes which applied to officers and
employees of the Government and were generally spoken of as the "conflict
of interest" laws. These included
six sections of the criminal code, 18 U.S.C. 216, 281, 283, 284, 434 and 1914
[§§ 216, 281, 283, 284, 434 and 1914 of this title], and a statute containing
no penalties, § 190 of the Revised Statutes (5 U.S.C. 99) [former § 99 of Title
5, now covered by § 207 of this title].
Public Law 87-849 (sometimes referred to hereinafter as "the
Act") repealed § 190 and one of the criminal statutes, 18 U.S.C. 216,
without replacing them. [FN1] In addition it repealed and supplanted the
other five criminal statutes. It is the
purpose of this memorandum to summarize the new law and to describe the
principal differences between it and the legislation it has replaced.
The Act accomplished its
revisions by enacting new §§ 203, 205, 207, 208 and 209 of title 18 of the
United States Code [§§ 203, 205, 207, 208 and 209 of this title] and providing
that they supplant the above-mentioned §§ 281, 283, 284, 434 and 1914 of title
18 [§§ 281, 283, 284, 434 and 1914 of this title] respectively. [FN2] It
will be convenient, therefore, after summarizing the principal provisions of
the new sections, to examine each section separately, comparing it with its
precursor before passing to the next.
First of all, however, it is necessary to describe the background and
provisions of the new 18 U.S.C. 202(a) [§ 202(a) of this title], which has no
counterpart among the statutes formerly in effect.