Oh, well, easy come, easy go.
On Monday the right wing radio host Michael Savage offered Newt Gingrich a cool $1 million dollars. All the current GOP frontrunner had to do was drop out of the nomination process “for the sake of the nation,” as Savage rather starkly put it.
However, it’s probably a good thing for all involved that the world’s most famous Tiffany’s credit line-holder almost certainly has no intention of accepting the offer, since doing so could conceivably land both him and Savage in a South Carolina jail.
Todd Kincannon, a lawyer and former SC Republican Party Executive Director wrote to TPM to note that under South Carolina Election Law (Section 7-25-200 to be precise) both parties could be subject to a $10,000 fine or up to a year in the slammer.
Indeed, in an email to TPM, he claimed that Savage could technically be prosecutable already:
“SC law would be enforceable because Gingrich has signed up to appear on the ballot, therefore Savage’s comment would necessarily involve Gingrich withdrawing from the South Carolina ballot. The statute is really a bribery statute, so Savage’s location when he made the promise wouldn’t be relevant.”
Fortunately for the shock jock, Kincannon notes that it’s not very likely:
“Someone would have to file a criminal complaint with a law enforcement agency. They may decline to prosecute. It seems pretty clear cut, so the timeline would be compressed. Could be a few months from complaint to trial. It’s also very possible the agency would decline to prosecute on the grounds that Savage is really pulling a political stunt and isn’t serious about it.”
Still, if Savage really is serious about it then it would seem he’ll have to hope Newt loses the nomination another way… perhaps by being beaten fair and square in the polls?
Thomas Lane
Thomas Lane is an associate editor at Talking Points Memo. He previously produced and reported for the BBC from its UN Bureau in New York. He is a dual citizen of the US and the UK.
Facebook Conversations