When you look at it that way, who gives a sh!t about what is “legal” anymore? That’s why I’d have a hard time convicting anyone if I served on a jury. I’d be sitting in the courtroom assuming that everyone on the prosecutor’s side of the room is a dishonest, corrupt pile of sh!t.
All the DC insiders practice this in one form or fashion and the rules are different for members of congress and senate. Look at the insider trading rules, look at the workplace sexual misconduct rules. They can go on the senate and house floor and accuse/lie their asses off without consequence. That is why Reid always accused people like the Koch Brothers and Milt Romney of evading taxes and committing misdeeds because the libel laws don’t apply to members if they’re on the floor of their respective chambers. If any of us or a newspaper accused an elected dumocrat of a crime, we could be subject to criminal penalty but that same person could call us a murderer and a child molester and get away with it.
They get their useless kids gigs as aides or assistants in no show jobs with major donors. It’s an indirect payoff and the worst kept secret in DC. What Joe did was get directly involved which is a no-no.