Section 201 is a more encompassing statute than section 666. It imposes criminal liabilities when a public official is offered or solicits a bribe or an unlawful gratuity. Section 666 imposes liability only when a public official or agent accepts or agrees to accept an offered bribe, or when an individual accedes to a request for a bribe. Although section 201 applies to most Federal officials, the scope of section 666 is strictly limited to officials of State and local governments or agencies of such governments that draw a threshold amount of Federal funds. Elements of the offenses under these sections are explained in detail. Defenses to charges under these sections pertain to vagueness and overbreadth, economic coercion, duress, speech or debate clause, entrapment, outrageous conduct, and selective prosecution. Under the Federal Sentencing guidelines, violations of section 201 are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years, under a base level of 10. The amount of the bribery payment is a factor in sentencing, and bribery intended to influence an official act by an official in a high position of public trust is sanctioned more severely. 161 footnotes