system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:Why are American politicans/judges/ect allowed to accept financial contributions (for example campaign donations) in exchange for their support (or the opposite) of issues/laws/judgements? What is the legal justification for this when bribery is illegal?

Bribes are illegal yet 'donating' in  exchange for things is not. Why is this the case? 

Edit: thanks! y'all really came through on this!
gpt
There can be no *quid pro quo,* per se, attached to a campaign contribution. Otherwise, that would indeed be illegal. (wink, wink). The party line, and they're sticking to it, is that you contribute to support those you feel share your ideology and/or viewpoint in the *hopes* (wink, wink) that he or she will vote or rule accordingly, with no guarantees. However, the pragmatic fact of the matter is, the likelihood of having your personal interests served increase proportionally with the size of your contribution (whether you're a wealthy individual or a multinational corporation).