About "Quid Pro Quo" (I Do This, You Do That)

A Message from Former Governor Don Siegelman's Son, Joseph:

What we learned from the Impeachment trial

Three years ago this last week, my dad celebrated his third anniversary of freedom from federal prison.

What we learned from my Dad's case: You don’t need a quid pro quo to wind up in prison. In my Dad's case, there was no Quid Pro Quo, much less an express one. He was raising money for a ballot initiative to send children to college for free. There was no allegation he benefited from a single penny.

What we learned from the impeachment trial of President Trump: Even with an express Quid Pro Quo where the terms of the agreement are asserted if you are a Republican president you can avoid jail time and impeachment.

The legal definition of "bribery" is exchanging official action for something of personal value. That standard hadn't changed for 100 years, before the Impeachment trial of President Trump.

For the rule of law to work, allegations of Quid Pro Quo corruption has to apply equally to everyone: either our President's alleged actions constitute bribery or they don't. But if they don't, my dad never should've been prosecuted.

I just had to get this off my mind, and besides, it’s been a while since I told you how grateful I am to you for working so hard and giving to my campaign in an effort to ensure--in Alabama at least-- the rule of law would matter.

BTW, my Dad has written a book about all of this, Stealing Our Democracy, which will be available this June!