“Election laws are supposed to clean up politics,” said Klein. “But this case proves that malicious, partisan prosecutors can use these laws as the dirtiest political tool.”WyLiberty’s briefs—joined by the Center for Competitive Politics—addressed the implications of the DeLay prosecution on free speech, showing that Texas law allowed for each transaction and that the prosecution’s interpretation would violate the First Amendment’s protections against vagueness and overbreadth.“This case demonstrates the real dangers of criminalizing politics” said Barr. “Americans should not have to worry about government investigating and imprisoning them just because they exercised their constitutional rights. Fortunately, the Court realized that the First Amendment precludes just this sort of abuse.”
