Investigators digging into allegations that St. Paul City Council member and mayoral candidate Dai Thao's campaign solicited a bribe are dealing with a hazy and seldom-prosecuted offense.
In the past five years, only one public official or employee was convicted under the state's law against soliciting or accepting a bribe, according to state court data. Bribery prosecutions are rare in Minnesota because the state's politics are relatively clean but also because bribery is hard to prove, said former Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, now in private practice.
"So much of it depends on not only what is said, and by whom, but what the context is, what nonverbal messages are being sent," Gaertner said. "It's very hard to reconstruct what happened."
The allegations against Thao and his campaign manager emerged Saturday. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating a February meeting between Thao, lobbyist Sarah Clarke and some of her clients, where they discussed a packaging materials ban the city is considering.
At the meeting, Thao asked them not to take notes, Clarke said, and asked for "resources." It seemed clear he meant a campaign contribution, she said. Thao's campaign manager, Angela Marlow, later texted Clarke saying, "Dai asked me to see if I could get a donation from your clients or yourself for his mayor campaign? My understanding is that they are leaving tomorrow. We will certainly rethink this issue."
Thao declined to comment Tuesday. He has issued a statement saying he did not know of or sanction Marlow's solicitation — a statement she refutes.
Clarke has worked in state politics for 11 years. She said this is the first time she has encountered a situation like this.
"There is a broad misconception that this stuff happens all the time, and that is absolutely not true and not the case," said Clarke, who texted Marlow back saying the request could be "misperceived as a bribe."