Hopefully this can be put in the “it goes without saying” file, but California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday issued a legal alert reminding the public that it remains, in fact, illegal to bribe public officials.
This isn’t the first time Bonta has issued such an alert. In April 2025, after the Trump administration paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Bonta issued an alert reminding businesses that bribing foreign officials was still illegal in California. This time the subject is federal officials.
The new alert doesn’t name a company or an event. It comes after reports that Santa Clara-based Nvidia gave $25 million to the White House ballroom project. Nvidia, whose CEO is embroiled in his own scandal, has said the gift was independent of its business interests. In letters to Nvidia and other donor companies, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Dave Min wrote that giving to influence decisions “could run afoul of federal bribery law.”
Bonta’s office tied the alert to what he called “the tone from the top of the Trump Administration.” Whatever prompted it, the alert lays out who can enforce the law, and for how long.
What the law says
Giving money or anything else of value to a federal official to influence an official act is bribery. That’s true whether the payment goes to the official or to “any other person or entity.” A gift given to an official for an official act is a separate crime, called an illegal gratuity. The release describes it as a gift for doing what the official is paid to do anyway. The alert also says political campaign contributions can cross the line under some circumstances.
The laws cover any officer, employee or person acting for or on behalf of the United States or any federal department, agency or branch.
Where California comes in
In California, violations of those federal laws can be pursued under the state’s Unfair Competition Law, which treats violations of other laws as unlawful business practices in their own right. That means enforcement doesn’t rest only with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Under the UCL, cases can be brought by the attorney general, district attorneys, some city attorneys and county counsels, and people who lost money or property. Remedies include civil penalties, restitution, injunctions and disgorgement of profits.
The clock keeps running
Federal bribery laws carry a five-year statute of limitations, which can be extended in some cases. The alert notes this means the window for a violation committed now runs into the next presidential term.
The alert also covers related conduct: general fraud and honest services violations, paying federal officials for representation, supplementing federal employees’ salaries, paying to obtain a public office, conspiracy, and violations of procurement, gift and government-property laws.
Same advice as always
The advice for businesses hasn’t changed. Keep rigorous internal controls. Make sure your company and its agents aren’t offering anything of value in exchange for official acts.
Which, again, goes without saying. Except, apparently, when it doesn’t.
