That’s the point, the letter of the law means you have to meet a set criteria to prove it. The spirit of the law can look at it and go ‘hey you got this donation, and proceed to act in this corporate interest’ and see the pattern of abuse is acting against the conceptual idea of not being able to be bribed.

Without this, bribery would be very hard. You would have to literally give them money or houses (like Clarence Thomas), or jobs to their family (also Clarence Thomas).

So very easy in other words.