>>>Can you show me in the statute that you cite where that dirt would be included as something prohibited?
>>>They go into some exhaustive detail about what is prohibited and I can't find anything that would cover this.
>
>It seems you largely agree with this fellow... published in WAPO so it must be true: ;-)
>
>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/07/12/can-it-be-a-crime-to-do-opposition-research-by-asking-foreigners-for-information/?utm_term=.9ba15143b905

I generally agree with this.
The statue is clearly directed at direct or indirect payments or reimbursements that be assigned a monetary value.