BuzzFeed News: The Justice Department Has Argued Sex, Information, And Worthless Stock Were “Things Of Value.” But They Say Trump’s Request For Dirt Wasn’t.

WASHINGTON — Last week, a senior Justice Department official told reporters they’d decided not to open a criminal investigation into President Donald Trump’s July call with the Ukrainian president because they couldn’t “quantify” Trump’s request for dirt on former vice president Joe Biden as a “thing of value.” …

Paul Seamus Ryan, vice president for policy and litigation at government watchdog group Common Cause, called the Justice Department’s position “absurd.” Common Cause filed a complaint with the Justice Department and FEC claiming Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and others allegedly involved in soliciting information from Ukraine violated the foreign contribution ban.

“There is no doubt in my mind that a competent prosecutor could prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury that an investigation by the government of a foreign country … is a thing of value in this context,” Ryan said.

Any violation of the foreign contribution ban can lead to a civil enforcement action by the FEC or be considered an impeachable offense by Congress, Ryan said. For the Justice Department to prosecute it as a crime, the government would have to show the violation was willful and that the “thing of value” exceeded $2,000 for a misdemeanor charge, or $25,000 for a felony.

Ryan said he didn’t think it would be hard for prosecutors to at least meet the $2,000 line when it came to political opposition research. Cass agreed that prosecutors only had to show that the “thing of value” met the minimum thresholds, as opposed to proving a specific final dollar amount, but that would make it tougher to prove in court, he said.