Cite as: 540 U. S. 93 (2003)
Opinion of Kennedy, J.
Government has not fairly characterized the general attitudes of Members toward soft-money donors from whom they have not solicited.
Other aspects of the record confirm the Government has not produced evidence that Members corruptly favor soft-money donors to their party as a per se matter. Most testimony from which the Government would have the Court infer corruption is testimony that Members are rewarded by their parties for soliciting soft money. See id., at 438-521 (Kollar-Kotelly, J.). This says nothing about how Members feel about a party's soft-money donors from whom they have not solicited. Indeed, record evidence on this point again cuts against the Government:
" 'As a Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I experienced the pressure first hand. On several occasions when we were debating important tax bills, I needed a police escort to get into the Finance Committee hearing room because so many lobbyists were crowding the halls, trying to get one last chance to make their pitch to each Senator. Senators generally knew which lobbyist represented the interests of which large donor. I was often glad that I limited the amount of soft money fundraising I did and did not take PAC contributions, because it would be extremely difficult not to feel beholden to these donors otherwise.' " Id., at 482 (testimony of former Senator Boren; see 6-R Defs. Exhs., Tab 8, ¶ 8).
Thus, one of the handful of Senators on whom the Government relies to make its case candidly admits the pressure of appeasing soft-money donors derives from the Members' solicitation of donors, not from those donors' otherwise giving to their party.
In light of all this, § 323(a) has no valid anticorruption interest. The anticircumvention interests the Government offers in defense of §§ 323(b), (d), and (f) must also fall with the
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