text: Ronin: The U.S.C. I referred to does more than "refer specifically to contributions or donations of money." There is another phrase, the crucial phrase in the statute as far as Fredo is concerned and which you are selectively ignoring, and that phrase  is “other thing of value.” Information is an “other thing of value.” 
  
   “To the extent you’re using the resources of a foreign country to run your campaign — that’s an illegal campaign contribution,” according to Nick Akerman, an assistant special prosecutor during the Watergate investigation who now specializes in data crime.
  
  Here’s the second important passage of the statute: “No person shall knowingly solicit, accept, or receive from a foreign national any contribution or donation.” The word "solicit" is why it doesn’t matter if Fredo actually got useful information. The part that’s illegal is trying to acquire information from a foreign source, whether or not the solicitation is  successful.