Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Part I · Chapter 11 — Bribery, Graft, and Conflicts of Interest
§ 205. Activities of officers and employees in claims against and other matters affecting the Government
Statutory text
Whoever, being an officer or employee of the United States in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government or in any agency of the United States, other than in the proper discharge of his official duties—
acts as agent or attorney for prosecuting any claim against the United States, or receives any gratuity, or any share of or interest in any such claim, in consideration of assistance in the prosecution of such claim; or
acts as agent or attorney for anyone before any department, agency, court, court-martial, officer, or civil, military, or naval commission in connection with any covered matter in which the United States is a party or has a direct and substantial interest;
shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 216 of this title.
Whoever, being an officer or employee of the District of Columbia or an officer or employee of the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, otherwise than in the proper discharge of official duties—
acts as agent or attorney for prosecuting any claim against the District of Columbia, or receives any gratuity, or any share of or interest in any such claim in consideration of assistance in the prosecution of such claim; or
acts as agent or attorney for anyone before any department, agency, court, officer, or commission in connection with any covered matter in which the District of Columbia is a party or has a direct and substantial interest;
shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 216 of this title.
A special Government employee shall be subject to subsections (a) and (b) only in relation to a covered matter involving a specific party or parties—
in which he has at any time participated personally and substantially as a Government employee or special Government employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise; or
which is pending in the department or agency of the Government in which he is serving.
Paragraph (2) shall not apply in the case of a special Government employee who has served in such department or agency no more than sixty days during the immediately preceding period of three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days.
Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or employee, if not inconsistent with the faithful performance of that officer’s or employee’s duties, from acting without compensation as agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing—
any person who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings in connection with those proceedings; or
except as provided in paragraph (2), any cooperative, voluntary, professional, recreational, or similar organization or group not established or operated for profit, if a majority of the organization’s or group’s members are current officers or employees of the United States or of the District of Columbia, or their spouses or dependent children.
Paragraph (1)(B) does not apply with respect to a covered matter that—
is a claim under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1);
is a judicial or administrative proceeding where the organization or group is a party; or
involves a grant, contract, or other agreement (including a request for any such grant, contract, or agreement) providing for the disbursement of Federal funds to the organization or group.
Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or employee, including a special Government employee, from acting, with or without compensation, as agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing, his parents, spouse, child, or any person for whom, or for any estate for which, he is serving as guardian, executor, administrator, trustee, or other personal fiduciary except—
in those matters in which he has participated personally and substantially as a Government employee or special Government employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, or
in those matters which are the subject of his official responsibility,
subject to approval by the Government official responsible for appointment to his position.
Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents a special Government employee from acting as agent or attorney for another person in the performance of work under a grant by, or a contract with or for the benefit of, the United States if the head of the department or agency concerned with the grant or contract certifies in writing that the national interest so requires and publishes such certification in the Federal Register.
Nothing in this section prevents an officer or employee from giving testimony under oath or from making statements required to be made under penalty for perjury or contempt.
For the purpose of this section, the term “covered matter” means any judicial or other proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, investigation, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter.
Nothing in this section prevents an employee from acting pursuant to—
chapter 71 of title 5;
section 1004 or chapter 12 of title 39;
section 3 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831b);
chapter 10 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4104 et seq.); or
any provision of any other Federal or District of Columbia law that authorizes labor-management relations between an agency or instrumentality of the United States or the District of Columbia and any labor organization that represents its employees.
Legislative history
Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.
Pub. L. 87–849 § 1(a) · 76 Stat. 1119
Enacted · 18 U.S.C. § 205
Added Pub. L. 87–849, § 1(a), Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1122
Source evidence
Code source credit
Added Pub. L. 87–849, § 1(a), Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1122Ethics Reform Act of 1989
Pub. L. 101–194 title IV § 404 · 103 Stat. 1716
Amended · 18 U.S.C. § 205
Pub. L. 101–194 amended section generally, revising and restating as subsecs. (a) to (h) provisions formerly consisting of eight undesignated pars
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Pub. L. 101–194 amended section generally, revising and restating as subsecs. (a) to (h) provisions formerly consisting of eight undesignated pars.Enacted provision · exact public law section
SEC. 404. AMENDMENT TO SECTION ¡OS OF TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE. Section 205 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: “§ 205. Activities of officers and employees in claims against and other matters affecting the Government “(a) Whoever, being an officer or employee of the United States in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government or in any agency of the United States, other than in the proper discharge of his official duties— (1) acts as agent or attorney for prosecuting any claim against the United States, or receives any gratuity, or any share of or interest in any such claim, in consideration of assistance in the prosecution of such claim; or (2) acts as agent or attorney for anyone before any department, agency, court, court-martial, officer, or any civil, military, or naval commission in connection with any covered matter in which the United States is a party or has a direct and substantial interest; shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 216 of this title. “(b) Whoever, being an officer or employee of the District of Columbia or an officer or employee of the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, otherwise than in the proper discharge of official duties— “(1) acts as agent or attorney for prosecuting any claim against the District of Columbia, or receives any gratuity, or any share of or interest in any such claim in consideration of assistance in the prosecution of such claim; or “(2) acts as agent or attorney for anyone before any department, agency, court, officer, or any commission in connection with any covered matter in which the District of Columbia is a party or has a direct and substantial interest; shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 216 of this title. “(c) A special Government employee shall be subject to subsections (a) and (b) only in relation to a covered matter involving a specific party or parties— (1) in which he has at any time participated personally and substantially as a Government employee or special Government employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise; or (2) which is pending in the department or agency of the Government in which he is serving. Paragraph (2) shall not apply in the case of a special Government employee who has served in such department or agency no more than sixty days during the immediately preceding period of three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days. “(d) Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or employee, if not inconsistent with the faithful performance of his duties, from acting without compensation as agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing, any person who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings in connection with those proceedings. “(e) Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or employee, including a special Government employee, from acting, with or without compensation, as agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing, his parents, spouse, child, or any person for whom, or for any estate for which, he is serving as guardian, executor, administrator, trustee, or other personal Fiduciary except— (1) in those matters in which he has participated personally and substantially as a Government employee or special Government employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, or (2) in those matters which are the subject of his official responsibility, subject to approval by the Government official responsible for appointment to his position. “(f) Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents a special Government Grants. Contracts. Federal Register, publication. employee from acting as agent or attorney for another person in the performance of work under a grant by, or a contract with or for the benefit of, the United States if the head of the department or agency concerned with the grant or contract certifies in writing that the national interest so requires and publishes such certification in the Federal Register. “(g) Nothing in this section prevents an officer or employee from giving testimony under oath or from making statements required to be made under penalty for perjury or contempt “(h) For the purpose of this section, the term ‘covered matter’ means any judicial or other proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, investigation, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter.”.Pub. L. 101–280 § 5(c)(1) · 104 Stat. 149
Substituted · 18 U.S.C. § 205(a)(2)
Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(c)(1), substituted “civil” for “any civil”
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(c)(1), substituted “civil” for “any civil”.Enacted provision · exact public law section
(1) in subsection (a)(2) by striking “any civil” and inserting “civil”; andPub. L. 101–280 § 5(c)(2) · 104 Stat. 149
Substituted · 18 U.S.C. § 205(b)(2)
Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(c)(2), substituted “commission” for “any commission”
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(c)(2), substituted “commission” for “any commission”.Enacted provision · exact public law section
(2) in subsection (b)(2) by striking “any commission” and inserting “commission”.Federal Employee Representation Improvement Act of 1996
Pub. L. 104–177 § 2(a) · 110 Stat. 1556
Amended · 18 U.S.C. § 205(d)
Pub. L. 104–177, § 2(a), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as follows: “Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or employee, if not inconsistent with the faithful performance of his duties, from acting without compensation as agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing, any person who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings in connection with those proceedings.”
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–177, § 2(a), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as follows: “Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or employee, if not inconsistent with the faithful performance of his duties, from acting without compensation as agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing, any person who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings in connection with those proceedings.”Enacted provision · exact public law section
(a) Extension of Exemption to Prohibition.— Subsection (d) of section 205 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: “(d) (1) Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or employee, if not inconsistent with the faithful performance of that officer’s or employee’s duties, from acting without compensation as agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing— “(A) any person who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings in connection with those proceedings; or “(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), any cooperative, voluntary, professional, recreational, or similar organization or group not established or operated for profit, if a majority of the organization’s or groups’s members are current officers or employees of the United States or of the District of Columbia, or their spouses or dependent children. “(2) Paragraph (1)(B) does not apply with respect to a covered matter that— “(A) is a claim under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1); “(B) is a judicial or administrative proceeding where the organization or group is a party; or “(C) involves a grant, contract, or other agreement (including a request for any such grant, contract, or agreement) providing for the disbursement of Federal funds to the organization or group.”.Federal Employee Representation Improvement Act of 1996
Pub. L. 104–177 § 2(b) · 110 Stat. 1556
Added · 18 U.S.C. § 205(i)
Pub. L. 104–177, § 2(b), added subsec. (i)
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 104–177, § 2(b), added subsec. (i).Enacted provision · exact public law section
(b) Application to Labor-Management Relations.— Section 205 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “(i) Nothing in this section prevents an employee from acting pursuant to— “(1) chapter 71 of title 6; “(2) section 1004 or chapter 12 of title 39; “(3) section 3 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831b); “(4) chapter 10 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4104 et seq.); or “(5) any provision of any other Federal or District of Columbia law that authorizes labor-management relations between an agency or instrumentality of the United States or the District of Columbia and any labor organization that represents its employees.”.Criminal Law Technical Amendments Act of 2002
Pub. L. 107–273 div. B title IV § 4002(a)(9) · 116 Stat. 1758
Substituted · 18 U.S.C. § 205(d)(1)(B)
Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “group’s” for “groups’s”
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (d)(1)(B). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “group’s” for “groups’s”.Enacted provision · exact public law section
(9) Misspelling in section 205.— Section 205(d)(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking “groups’s” and inserting “group’s”.
6 of 7 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Foreign Service Act of 1980, referred to in subsec. (i)(4), is Pub. L. 96–465, , 94 Stat. 2071. Chapter 10 of title I of the Act is classified generally to subchapter X (§ 4101 et seq.) of chapter 52 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3901 of Title 22 and Tables.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 205, act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 692, related to the acceptance by a Member of Congress of anything of value to influence him, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 87–849 and is substantially covered by revised section 201.
Provisions similar to those comprising this section were contained in section 283 of this title prior to the repeal of such section and the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 87–849.
Amendments1989–2002 · 4 rounds
2002
Subsec. (d)(1)(B). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “group’s” for “groups’s”.
1996
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–177, § 2(a), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as follows: “Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or employee, if not inconsistent with the faithful performance of his duties, from acting without compensation as agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing, any person who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings in connection with those proceedings.”
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 104–177, § 2(b), added subsec. (i).
1990
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(c)(1), substituted “civil” for “any civil”.
Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(c)(2), substituted “commission” for “any commission”.
1989
Pub. L. 101–194 amended section generally, revising and restating as subsecs. (a) to (h) provisions formerly consisting of eight undesignated pars.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective 90 days after , see section 4 of Pub. L. 87–849, set out as a note under section 201 of this title.
Exemptions
Exemptions from former section 283 of this title deemed to be exemptions from this section, see section 2 of Pub. L. 87–849, set out as a note under section 203 of this title.
Executive Documents
Delegation of Authority
Authority of President under subsec. (e) of this section to grant exemptions or approvals to individuals delegated to agency heads, see section 401 of Ex. Ord. No. 12674, , 54 F.R. 15159, as amended, set out as a note under section 7301 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Authority of President under subsec. (e) of this section to grant exemptions or approvals for Presidential appointees to committees, commissions, boards, or similar groups established by the President, and for individuals appointed pursuant to sections 105 and 107(a) of Title 3, The President, delegated to Counsel to President, see section 402 of Ex Ord. No. 12674, , 54 F.R. 15159, as amended, set out as a note under section 7301 of Title 5.
Credits
1962–2002 · 5 acts
- 1962Added Pub. L. 87–849, § 1(a), , 76 Stat. 1122
- 1989amended Pub. L. 101–194, title IV, § 404, , 103 Stat. 1750
- 1990Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(c), , 104 Stat. 159
- 1996Pub. L. 104–177, § 2, , 110 Stat. 1563
- 2002Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(a)(9), , 116 Stat. 1807.
Show as published
(Added Pub. L. 87–849, § 1(a), , 76 Stat. 1122; amended Pub. L. 101–194, title IV, § 404, , 103 Stat. 1750; Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(c), , 104 Stat. 159; Pub. L. 104–177, § 2, , 110 Stat. 1563; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(a)(9), , 116 Stat. 1807.)