Full opinion text
GUY, Senior Circuit Judge, delivered the opinion of the Court. NELSON, Circuit Judge (pp. 712-14), delivered a separate concurring opinion. QUIST, District Judge (pp. 714-16), delivered a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part in Judge GUY’S opinion, and concurring in Judge NELSON’s opinion. RALPH B. GUY, Jr., Senior Circuit Judge. Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of (1) extortion, in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951; (2) racketeering, in violation of the federal RICO statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c); and (3) making false statements to federal investigators, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. On appeal, defendant challenges these convictions as well as his sentence. For the following reasons, we affirm. I. This case arises out of an FBI investigation into public corruption in Kentucky. The investigation, dubbed “Operation BOP-TROT,” focused on certain members of the Kentucky General Assembly who were suspected of extorting cash payments in exchange for assurances that they would take a particular stance on legislation pertaining to the horse racing industry. Initiated in September 1990, Operation BOPTROT ultimately ensnared several public officials, including Donald J. Blandford, Speaker of Kentucky’s House of Representatives. The circumstances that led to Blandford’s conviction are as follows. A. Hobbs Act Violations At all times relevant to this appeal, Riverside Downs, a harness racing track located in Henderson, Kentucky, cooperated with the FBI. As part of its probe, the FBI directed Riverside Downs to hire John “Jay” Spurrier ostensibly to promote the track’s interests in the state assembly. Spurrier was a logical choice; a prominent lobbyist from Frankfort, Kentucky, he chaired Kentucky’s Harness Racing Commission. On Spurrier’s advice, Riverside Downs then hired William McBee. McBee, also a lobbyist, was a former state representative who had recently lost a bid for re-election. An important part of Spurrier’s and McBee’s work on behalf of Riverside Downs was their effort to stifle any proposed legislation that would restrict the track’s ability to simulcast thoroughbred races. In particular, Riverside Downs, like other harness racing tracks, was concerned about the possible enactment of “breed-to-breed” legislation. Under such legislation, race tracks would be able to simulcast only those races involving similar breeds of horses. Spurrier became aware of Operation BOP-TROT after he and McBee had decided to assist Riverside Downs’s effort to block any proposed breed-to-breed legislation. Spurrier agreed to cooperate with the investigation and subsequently informed the FBI that Blandford, among others, would be willing to accept money in exchange for his opposition to breed-to-breed legislation. Spurrier added, however, that Blandford would accept payment only from McBee, who, at the time, was still unaware of the investigation (not to mention Spurrier’s complicity). Although the FBI did not immediately attempt to bring McBee into the fold, McBee nevertheless became an unwitting participant, assisting the investigation on at least three occasions by passing FBI money to Blandford. The first such occasion took place in late January 1992 while various lobbyists, state legislators (including Spurrier, McBee, and Blandford), and their guests were on a trip to Florida. Similar trips, which were financed by various interest groups (the harness racing industry among them), had been taking place on an annual basis for a number of years. Prior to leaving on the trip, Spurrier and McBee discussed the possibility of soliciting, by way of an illegitimate payment, Blandford’s assistance in defeating breed-to-breed legislation. To this end, McBee was provided with $500 by Chris Koumas, a Riverside Downs representative who was cooperating with the investigation. Once in Florida, McBee handed the money over to Bland-ford. In so doing, McBee described the payment as “walking around” money. He did not mention breed-to-breed legislation nor did he tape record what occurred during the transaction. As McBee would later testify, however, Blandford had accepted money from him on at least one prior occasion (in 1990) knowing that the money was intended to influence his position with respect to pending horse racing legislation. The FBI arranged for McBee to make a second payment to Blandford soon after Spurrier, McBee, and Blandford returned from the Florida junket. This time the transfer was to take place during a dinner party to be held at Spurrier’s hotel suite in Frankfort. In preparation for the dinner and with court authorization, the FBI set up video and audio surveillance equipment in different parts of Spurrier’s suite. The dinner went forward as planned on February 20, 1992. Blandford was not the only general assembly member or guest to attend. Representative Jerry Bronger, among others, also was present. During the course of the dinner, Blandford accepted $500 from McBee in one of the suite’s two bedrooms. Once again, however, McBee did not mention breed-to-breed legislation in handing over the cash. He simply stated: “Here’s a little something from MR. SPURRIER and me and the harness horse people and ... so forth.” Blandford replied: “All right. Well that’s wonderful!” A second dinner in Spurrier’s hotel suite would provide McBee with yet another opportunity to give FBI money to Blandford. Although, at the time, there was no breed-to-breed restriction on simulcasting and inter-track wagering in Kentucky’s 1992 horse racing legislation (“horse bill”), the possibility that such a restriction would be added to the horse bill still remained. As industry participants and the FBI were well aware, the horse bill, which was drafted by the governor and submitted to the relevant house committee on March 2, 1992, could be amended to include a breed-to-breed restriction as late as March 23, 1992. Again, the FBI obtained court approval to place surveillance equipment in selected spots in Spurrier’s suite. On this occasion, the bedroom in which the February 20 dinner payments had occurred was outfitted with both audio and video surveillance devices. Prior to this dinner, which took place on March 11,1992, Spurrier provided McBee with another $500 to give to Blandford. Spurrier specifically instructed McBee to inform Blandford that the payment was conditioned upon Blandford’s opposition to breed-to-breed legislation. Notwithstanding Spur-rier’s instructions, McBee was only marginally less cryptic than before when it came to informing Blandford about the reason behind the payment. During McBee’s and Bland-ford’s conversation, which took place in the bugged bedroom, the following exchange took place: BLANDFORD: Whatta ya got there? (CHUCKLES) MC BEE: Another five. BLANDFORD: Well what is that? MC BEE: Harness people. BLANDFORD: Huh? MC BEE: Your governor’s taking care ... your governor’s taking care of the ML BLANDFORD: Well, what ... what ... MC BEE: When I get it, I share! (LAUGHS) BLANDFORD: Hey, bless your heart. MC BEE: Huh? BLANDFORD: Bless your heart. MC BEE: I share with my buddies! BLANDFORD: Are we all right? MC BEE: No breed to breed. Ain’t in there. BLANDFORD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE— UI) MC BEE: Everything’s doin’ fine. And they’re ... they’re not pushing us. I know you hate Riverside but you can’t legislate ‘em out of business. Let ‘em go out of business on their own. BLANDFORD: Yeah, but we’re ... I mean, we’re not ... we don’t have a con_we don’t have ah ... MC BEE: (UI) BLANDFORD: Okay ... MC BEE: No ... (UI) BLANDFORD: MR. BRERETON called me today (UI) ... that’s a helluva horse bill (UI). You fin ... you finally did right. (UI) I said you don’t just throw something out there and say, hey, (UI). I know that now. MC BEE: And ah no breed to breed, RED MILE stay alive, and then that bunch down there stays alive for a little while but it’ll be gone. BLANDFORD: Yeah. Okay. All right. Thanks. MC BEE: (UI) my bills. I’ll take care of my buddies! (LAUGHS) Later that evening, Spurrier expressed his gratitude to Blandford: SPURRIER: Before you get to leavin’, I just want to thank you (door closing), for what you’ve all done really for the harness people I’m dead serious, they’ve been fair to’em, they’ve been fair to especially you know my breed to breed problem. BLANDFORD: Yeah. SPURRIER: And I really appreciate it DONNIE and I just. BLANDFORD: Okay. SPURRIER: I just wanna say thank you. BLANDFORD: Okay, hey. SPURRIER: I’m serious. BLANDFORD: I know, I, I understand and I know. SPURRIER: And these people have been good and I’ve embarrassed them, this ITW’s about broke’em. BLANDFORD: Yeah. SPURRIER: And, and this has kinda got me off the hook. BLANDFORD: Okay. SPURRIER: Thank you. BLANDFORD: Wonderful. SPURRIER: (UI) I mean you really just been super. BLANDFORD: Well, just let, let me know. SPURRIER: I know. BLANDFORD: That’s all you got to do sometime I, sometime I, sometime I may not be quick enough (door closing) to (UI), but ... SPURRIER: This breed-to-breed thing was just gonna kill us. BLANDFORD: I know, well ... SPURRIER: No I mean just ... BLANDFORD: (UI) SPURRIER: ... it was [a] personal thing. BLANDFORD: ... I know. SPURRIER: And once we killed that we done good. BLANDFORD: That’s right. It wasn’t gonna go, you gotta (UI) SPURRIER: I know. BLANDFORD: ... you know you gotta SPURRIER: It’s fair ... BLANDFORD: Okay. SPURRIER: It turned out. BLANDFORD: Okay. SPURRIER: But that don’t happen often. BLANDFORD: Sometimes you know, you, you, you ... wonder how you’re ever gonna get here, through the process but you ... (UI) bother me until get where you’re (UI) SPURRIER: I just wanna say (UI) (Government’s Trial Ex. #28.) B. False Statements to the FBI Plans to stage a third dinner were held in abeyance when the FBI instead decided to reveal the operation to McBee in hopes that it could then enlist his informed cooperation. When confronted by the FBI on March 30, 1992, McBee, though initially receptive to the agency’s overture, refused to assist the investigation. The following day the FBI approached Blandford, himself. Two FBI agents showed up at Blandford’s office with a tape recorder and copies of the video and audio tapes of the February 20 and March 11 dinners. After Blandford consented to the recording of the interview, the agents asked him several times whether he recently had been offered payments in exchange for his position on a piece pf legislation. Blandford repeatedly denied that he had received such offers from anyone, including McBee. In fact, he continued his denials even after the agents played the video and audio tapes for him. C. RICO Violations The FBI’s inquiry into Blandford’s affairs was not limited to his conduct with respect to the state’s horse racing industry. Indeed, after it had interviewed Blandford, the FBI obtained information regarding Blandford’s alleged misuse of campaign funds from Buel Guy, Blandford’s chief administrative assistant from 1984 to September 1992. According to Guy, in 1986 Blandford loaned money taken from his campaign account ($3,500) to Patricia Foley, who was at that time Bland-ford’s secretary and girlfriend. Foley used the money for a down payment on a car. Guy described the way in which Blandford set up the loan. First, Blandford wrote a check drawn on his campaign account to Guy. He then instructed Guy to cash the check and return the money to him. Guy complied, and Blandford turned the money over to Foley. Blandford later explained that since Foley had worked for his campaign during her spare time, “he felt that campaign funds could be used to compensate her for that work.” (Appellant’s Brief at 10.) Eventually, Guy, on behalf of Blandford, reported the $3,500 check to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance (“KREF”) and the Davies County Clerk, claiming that it represented a reimbursement for campaign-related work. To allay Guy’s concern that he would have to pay income taxes on the $3,500, Blandford wrote another check to Guy for $1,018.50. Blandford eventually would offer the same justification for this second check; namely, that Guy, like Foley, had been undercompen-sated for work on previous campaigns. On January 4, 1988, a report was filed — apparently through the United States mail — with the KREF for this check as well. Although Guy filled out and signed the report, it was Blandford who gave him the permission and authority to do so. Moreover, Blandford provided Guy with the information to include in the report. Again, the check was designated as reimbursement for a campaign expense. Based on these facts, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Blandford with conspiracy and attempt to commit extortion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (Counts 1 and 2, respectively). The indictment further charged Blandford with a RICO violation. 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c). In this regard, the indictment listed four racketeering acts. While either of the offenses detailed in Counts 1 and 2 accounted for the first such act, acts two through four consisted of three separate instances of alleged mail fraud, each pertaining to Blandford’s misuse of campaign funds. Finally, Count 4 charged Blandford with making false statements to FBI agents during his March 31,1992, interview, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Following a two-week trial, a jury acquitted Blandford of Count 1 and convicted him of Counts 2, 3, and 4. After unsuccessfully moving for a new trial and for a judgment of acquittal, Blandford was sentenced to concurrent terms of imprisonment of 64 months (Counts 2 and 3) and 60 months (Count 4). In addition, Blandford was assessed a $10,-000 fíne and an additional $108,356 for the cost of his incarceration. Blandford then filed a motion with the district court requesting a stay of the fine and a release on bail pending his appeal. When the district court denied his motion, Blandford requested the same relief from this court in the form of an emergency motion. Initially, this court stayed the fine for the cost of incarceration upon an appropriate bond and conditions to be determined by the district court. We also temporarily stayed the commencement of Blandford’s sentence until September 27,1993, to allow a full panel of the court to consider the matter. After the district court directed the filing of a bond as to the fine, a three-member panel of this court declined to grant Blandford release pending this appeal. II. A. On appeal, Blandford mounts several challenges to his Hobbs Act conviction. Title 18 U.S.C. § 1951, which sets forth the definition of “extortion,” provides in pertinent part: (a) Whoever in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or extortion or attempts or conspires so to do, or commits or threatens physical violence to any person or property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to do anything in violation of this section shall be fined not more than $10,-000 or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both. (b) As used in this section— (2) The term “extortion” means the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right. (Emphasis added). First, Blandford takes issue with the district court’s jury instructions pertaining to Counts 1 and 2 of his indictment. The instructions were in error, he complains, because they did not require the jury to find that he had entered into an explicit agreement (or quid pro quo) with Riverside Downs to oppose breed-to-breed legislation. Blandford also argues for the reversal of his extortion conviction on the ground that the evidence against him was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict. Two decisions of the Supreme Court inform our analysis of these claims. See Evans v. United States, — U.S.-, 112 S.Ct. 1881, 119 L.Ed.2d 57 (1992); McCormick v. United States, 500 U.S. 257, 111 S.Ct. 1807, 114 L.Ed.2d 307 (1991). In McCormick, a West Virginia legislator was convicted of extortion and income tax evasion for accepting cash payments in exchange for his agreement to support legislation furthering the efforts of graduates of foreign medical schools to practice medicine within the state while they attempted to pass the state’s licensing exam. The payments, which were deemed campaign contributions, were made by lobbyists who had been retained by the foreign doctors. After receiving several “contributions,” the legislator in question made good on his promise by sponsoring legislation that allowed foreign doctors to be permanently licensed — notwithstanding their failure to pass the state’s exam — by virtue of their years of experience. The legislator challenged his conviction, arguing that the trial court’s jury instructions were flawed because they did not contain a quid pro quo requirement. The Court agreed and reversed the conviction, stating: The receipt of [campaign] contributions is ... vulnerable under the Act as having been taken under color of official right, but only if the payments are made in return for an explicit promise or undertaking by the official to perform or not to perform an official act. In such situations the official asserts that his official conduct will be controlled by the terms of the promise or undertaking. This is the receipt of money by an elected official under color of official right within the meaning of the Hobbs Act. Id. at 273, 111 S.Ct. at 1816-17 (emphasis added); see also United States v. Bibby, 752 F.2d 1116, 1127 n. 1 (6th Cir.1985) (“What the Hobbs Act proscribes is the taking of money by a public official in exchange for specific promises to do or refrain from doing specific things. In other words, there must be a quid pro quo.”) (citation omitted), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1010, 106 S.Ct. 1183, 89 L.Ed.2d 300 (1986). The Court grounded its decision in a realistic view of the campaign contribution system that we, as a nation, have (for better or worse) adopted. In this regard, the McCormick Court observed: Serving constituents and supporting legislation that will benefit the district and individuals and groups therein is the everyday business of a legislator. It is also true that campaigns must be run and financed. Money is constantly being solicited on behalf of candidates, who run on platforms and who claim support on the basis of their views and what they intend to do or have done. Whatever ethical considerations and appearances may indicate, to hold that legislators commit the federal crime of extortion when they act for the benefit of constituents or support legislation furthering the interests of some of their constituents, shortly before or after campaign contributions are solicited and received from those beneficiaries, is an unrealistic assessment of what Congress could have meant by making it a crime to obtain property from another, with his consent, “under color of official right.” To hold otherwise would open to prosecution not only conduct that has long been thought to be well within the law but also conduct that in a very real sense is unavoidable so long as election campaigns are financed by private contributions or expenditures, as they have been from the beginning of the Nation. It would require statutory language more explicit than the Hobbs Act contains to justify a contrary conclusion. 500 U.S. at 272-73, 111 S.Ct. at 1816-17. In Evans, the Court granted certiorari to resolve a split in the circuits with respect to one of the questions it expressly declined to address in McCormick; namely, whether an affirmative act of inducement on the part of a public official is an element of extortion under color of official right. The defendant in Evans, a commissioner of a county in Georgia, accepted campaign contributions total-ling $8,000 from an FBI agent posing as a real estate developer. In exchange for the money, the defendant assured the agent-developer that he would do what he could to assist the agent-developer in obtaining rezoning approval for a tract of land. The defendant was not able to perform his end of the bargain, however, because he was arrested before he had an opportunity to do so. In challenging his extortion conviction, the defendant took issue with the jury instructions, which he claimed “did not require the jury to find ‘an element of duress such as a demand’ permitted the jury “to convict him on the basis of the ‘passive acceptance of a contribution’ and “did not properly describe the quid pro quo requirement for conviction if the jury found that the payment was a campaign contribution.” — U.S. at-, 112 S.Ct. at 1888-89. The Court, however, rejected the defendant’s attack on the jury instructions and affirmed his conviction. The Court ruled: We reject petitioner’s criticism of the instruction, and conclude that it satisfies the quid pro quo requirement of McCormick ... because the offense is completed at the time when the public official receives a payment in return for his agreement to perform specific official acts; fulfillment of the quid pro quo is not an element of the offense. We also reject petitioner’s contention that an affirmative step is an element of the offense of extortion “under color of official right” and need be included in the instruction.... We hold today that the Government need only show that a public official has obtained a payment to which he was not entitled, knowing that the payment was made in return for official acts. — U.S. at-, 112 S.Ct. at 1889 (footnotes omitted) (emphasis added). Exactly what effect Evans had on McCormick is not altogether clear. The federal circuit courts that have considered the matter assume that the former establishes a modified or relaxed quid pro quo standard to be applied in non-campaign contribution eases. Under this view, the comparatively strict standard of McCormick still would govern when the alleged Hobbs Act violation arises out of the receipt of campaign contributions by a public official. See United States v. Martinez, 14 F.3d 543, 553 (11th Cir.1994); United States v. Taylor, 993 F.2d 382, 385 (4th Cir.1993), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 249, 126 L.Ed.2d 202 (1993); United States v. Garcia, 992 F.2d 409, 414 (2d Cir.1993). These courts evidently assume, without engaging in any rigorous analysis, the validity of their position. The following passage taken from the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Taylor is illustrative: It is necessary for the prosecution to prove under the Evans standard “that a public official has obtained a payment to which he is not entitled, knowing that the payment was made in return for official acts.” Or, if the jury finds the payment to be a campaign contribution, then, under McCormick, it must find that “the payments are made in return for an explicit promise or undertaking by the official to perform or not to perform an official act.” 993 F.2d at 385 (citation omitted). In short, these circuits have concluded that Evans, aside from addressing the question of inducement, also resolved an additional question expressly left unanswered by the McCormick Court — “whether a quid pro quo requirement exists in other contexts, such as when an elected official receives gifts, meals, travel expenses, or other items of value.” 500 U.S. at 274 n. 10, 111 S.Ct. at 1817 n. 10. We read Evans somewhat differently. Evans, we believe, merely clarified (1) that no affirmative step towards the performance of the public official’s promise need be taken (i.e., fulfillment of the quid pro quo is not an element of the offense) and (2) that the quid pro quo of McCormick is satisfied by something short of a formalized and thoroughly articulated contractual arrangement (i.e., merely knowing the payment was made in return for official acts is enough). It was important for the Court to provide the former clarification because of a factual discrepancy between the two cases; in McCormick, unlike Evans, the defendant actually had performed his promise before his arrest. And in the case of the latter clarification, the Court gave content to what the McCormick quid pro quo entails. As Justice Kennedy explained in his concurrence: The official and the payor need not state the quid pro quo in express terms, for otherwise the law’s effect could be frustrated by knowing winks and nods. The inducement from the official is criminal if it is express or if it is implied from his words and actions, so long as he intends it to be so and the payor so interprets it. The criminal law in the usual course concerns itself with motives and consequences, not formalities. And the trier of fact is quite capable of deciding the intent with which words were spoken or actions taken as well as the reasonable construction given to them by the official and the payor. — U.S. at-, 112 S.Ct. at 1892 (Kennedy, J., concurring). In this sense, then, Evans provided a gloss on the McCormick Court’s use of the word “explicit” to qualify its quid pro quo requirement. Explicit, as explained in Evans, speaks not to the form of the agreement between the payor and payee, but to the degree to which the payor and payee were aware of its terms, regardless of whether those terms were articulated. Put simply, Evans instructed that by “explicit” McCormick did not mean “express.” To the extent Evans charted entirely new waters, it did so not to differentiate campaign contribution eases from non-campaign contribution cases, but only to consider the issue on which certiorari was granted, the issue of inducement. Our reading of Evans — as limited to the campaign contribution context — is bolstered by the fact that the case, after all, involved campaign contributions. Moreover, the majority did not purport to extend its holding beyond the immediate context, nor did the issues before the Court require it to do so. See United States v. McDade, 827 F.Supp. 1153, 1171 n. 8 (E.D.Pa.1993) (refusing to apply McCormick’s quid pro quo requirement in non-campaign contribution case); but see Evans, — U.S. at-, 112 S.Ct. at 1894 (“Readers of today’s opinion should have little difficulty in understanding that the rationale underlying the Court’s holding applies not only in campaign contribution cases, but all § 1951 prosecutions.”) (Kennedy, J., concurring); id. — U.S. at -, 112 S.Ct. at 1899 (suggesting that the Court extended McCormick’s quid pro quo requirement to all eases of official extortion) (Thomas, J., dissenting). Pursuant to our interpretation of Evans, we cannot be certain whether the Supreme Court would have courts apply a different standard when a public official’s acceptance of payments that are concededly not campaign contributions forms the basis for that official’s extortion charge. Indeed, a strong argument could be advanced for treating campaign contribution cases and non-campaign contribution cases disparately. Campaign contributions, as the McCormick Court noted, enjoy what might be labeled a presumption of legitimacy. Although legitimate campaign contributions, not unlike Hobbs Act extortion payments, are given with the hope, and perhaps expectation, that the payment will make the official more likely to support the payor’s interests, we punish neither the giving nor the taking presumably because we have decided that the alternative of financing campaigns with public funds is even less attractive than the current arrangement. Conversely, if any presumption is to be accorded to payments that occur outside of the campaign contribution context, the presumption would be the antithesis of the one described above. Stated another way, where, as in this case, a public official’s primary justification for receiving, with relative impunity, cash payments from private sources, i.e., our present campaign financing system, is not available, that public official is left with few other means of rationalizing his actions. That Evans and McCormick involved a public official’s receipt of campaign contributions does not mean that they are inappo-site for our present purposes. For instance, one thing that we do know from Evans is that a Hobbs Act conviction for extortion under color of official right will be sustained in campaign contribution cases when the government establishes the existence of a quid pro quo, as set forth in McCormick and informed by Evans. From this proposition, it follows a fortiori that in non-campaign contribution cases, which are perhaps less, but clearly not more, difficult to prove from the government’s standpoint, the same showing of a quid pro quo also would suffice. Additionally, Evans approved of this court’s decision in United States v. Butler, 618 F.2d 411 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 927, 100 S.Ct. 8024, 65 L.Ed.2d 1121 (1980). In Butler, a non-campaign contribution public extortion case, we noted the congruence of the crimes of public extortion and bribery. We elaborated: Assuming arguendo, that Butler’s conduct consisted of the mere passive acceptance of a bribe, it is the position of the United States that such conduct, whether the solicitation of, or the mere acceptance of, illicit payments for the desired “official action”, was a clear abuse of Butler’s office, falling within the proscriptions of the [Hobbs] Act. We agree. Butler’s contention that a distinction under the Act is drawn between the voluntary payment of a bribe, and extortion, by way of the inducement or initiation of such payment, is a technical overdrawn distinction which is in keeping with neither the legislative intent of the statute, nor recent case law holding that in eases of misuse of official power, bribery and extortion are not mutually exclusive. Id. at 417 (citing, inter alia, United States v. Harding, 563 F.2d 299 (6th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1062, 98 S.Ct. 1235, 55 L.Ed.2d 762 (1978)); see also Evans, -— U.S. at-, 112 S.Ct. at 1885 (noting equivalence of both crimes at common law). It is against this backdrop that we evaluate Blandford’s challenges to the jury instructions and the sufficiency of the evidence relative to his extortion conviction. The former is easily dismissed. Apparently operating under the mistaken assumption that Evans controlled the ease at bar, the district court issued an instruction that tracked the relevant portion of the holding in Evans, quoting directly therefrom. See United States v. Coyne, 4 F.3d 100, 114 (2d Cir.1993) (rejecting challenge to jury instruction on the basis that “it set out the quid pro quo requirement and tracked the Supreme Court’s statement in Evans ”), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 114 S.Ct. 929, 127 L.Ed.2d 221 (1994). The court charged: [Ejxtortion means the obtaining of property, to which one is not entitled, from another with that person’s consent, under color of official right. A public official commits extortion when he obtains a payment to which he was not entitled, knowing that the payment was made in return for his official acts. [To find the defendant guilty, the government must prove] that the defendant intended to obtain property or a payment to which he was not entitled with the knowledge that the property or payment was being given in return for an official act or an exercise of his official authority in regard to legislation potentially including Breed to Breed provisions. As with Count One, the term “property” as used in Count Two means money or other tangible and intangible things of value. (Emphasis added). Our discussion above should make clear that this instruction, far from prejudicing Blandford, actually inured to his benefit. In effect, the instruction made the government prove a campaign contribution ease even though no campaign contributions had in fact been made. See Garcia, 992 F.2d at 414 (noting that instruction, which required government to prove inducement, was not objectionable because it imposed an additional burden of proof on the government). Turning to Blandford’s sufficiency of the evidence argument, the issue, as we have framed it, is as follows: Was there sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could conclude that Blandford accepted a bribe? Blandford contends that the cash payments he received from McBee during the course of Operation BOPTROT were not in exchange for his official acts. Rather, he claims the payments were given merely as “a gratuity ... because of [his] status as Speaker.” (Reply Brief at 6.) In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, “the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Judged against the evidence presented, Blandford’s position is untenable. It is incontrovertible that Blandford accepted three $500 payments from McBee within a span of three months and that Blandford cannot make any legitimate claim of entitlement to these payments. In our estimation, the evidence (in particular, the transcripts of the taped discussions) further established that Blandford accepted the payments knowing (1) that McBee was a harness race track lobbyist; (2) that the source of the money was “the harness horse people”; and (3) that the Kentucky horse bill, which contained or potentially contained issues of vital importance to the harness racing industry (including breed-to-breed legislation) was pending. From this, a rational juror could have concluded not only that the motivation underlying the payments (i.e., the desire to buy or influence Blandford’s vote) was corrupt, but also that Blandford understood he was being paid for his ability to act on this motivation. In other words, a rational juror could have surmised that Blandford accepted the payments despite being aware that his acceptance would engender certain expectations on the part of the payor. See Coyne, 4 F.3d at 114 (“[I]t is sufficient if the public official understands that he or she is expected as a result of the payment to exercise particular kinds of influence — i.e., on behalf of the pay- or — as specific opportunities arise.”). In sum, the evidence was sufficient to demonstrate that the “motivation for the payments] focuse[d] on the recipient’s office.” Butler, 618 F.2d at 418-. Blandford is certainly correct in observing that he was given the money because he was the Speaker of the House; but for the fact that he had the power to influence horse racing legislation, he would not have been offered the payments in the first place. Blandford, however, draws the wrong conclusion from this observation. Rather than insulating him from prosecution, Blandford’s acceptance of cash from McBee, under the circumstances, plainly constitutes acceptance of a bribe. The use of public office to benefit one’s personal financial status in this fashion is precisely the evil that “under color of official right” extortion was designed to prevent. Id. at 420. Blandford also maintains that Count 2 of his indictment was duplicitous because it contained more than one alleged act of extortion. In this regard, apparently he argues that under Count 2 the jury could have convicted him for extortion without unanimously agreeing that he committed at least one of the listed acts. Blandford’s concern, however, was addressed by the district court when it offered the following instruction: One more point about count 2. As I have just told you, the indictment accuses the defendant of attempting to obtain money from William McBee in exchange for his influence with regard to legislation potentially containing breed-to-breed provisions. The first payment allegedly occurred on January 31, 1992. The second payment allegedly occurred on February 20, 1992. The third payment allegedly occurred on March 11, 1992. The government does not have to prove all of these for you to return a guilty verdict on this charge. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt of one of these three payments is enough. But in order to return a guilty verdict, all twelve of you must agree that the same one has been proved. In light of this unanimity instruction, we reject Blandford’s duplicity argument. See United States v. Cherif, 943 F.2d 692, 701 (7th Cir.1991) (“The problem Cherif complains about — the possibility that the jury would convict him even though it did not unanimously agree on what false statement he made — could easily have been cured by an instruction telling the jury that it could convict Cherif on the false statement count only if it unanimously agreed on the false statement he made.”), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 112 S.Ct. 1564, 118 L.Ed.2d 211 (1992). Blandford further maintains that the district court erred by admitting into evidence the tape recorded statements made by his alleged co-conspirator, Jerry Bronger. Blandford claims that the statements which were made during the February 20 and March 11 dinners were highly prejudicial to his defense because they “show an express quid pro quo between [McBee’s] payment of the money and Bronger’s help in killing breed-to-breed.” (Appellant’s Brief at 20.) “In order to admit the statement of a co-conspirator under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E), it must first be determined that the conspiracy existed, that the defendant was a member of the conspiracy, and that the co-conspirator’s statements were made ‘in furtherance of the conspiracy.’” United States v. Gesso, 971 F.2d 1257, 1261 (6th Cir.1992) (en banc). Each element must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, and we review the district court’s determinations for clear error. Bourjaily v. United States, 483 U.S. 171, 176, 107 S.Ct. 2775, 2779, 97 L.Ed.2d 144 (1987). Here, Blandford does not deny that, at least as between McBee and Bronger, a conspiracy to extort existed; nor does he deny that Bronger’s statements furthered the conspiracy. Instead, he contends that he was not, himself, part of a conspiracy. The district court rejected Blandford’s contention, stating: I think that there is evidence [of a conspiracy] on the boat trip; I think that [Bland-ford] took money or knew the trip and the money and everything that was coming from McBee was from the harness people. And there’s a bill deal involved with the harness people, and it was in his capacity as a legislator. So he conspired at least with Mr. McBee to do this, to take money. Now further, on the preceding tape or the tape prior to this, the one that’s on the videotape, McBee tells Blandford [at the February 20 dinner], T am going to take care of Bronger next. Is that okay with you,’ and Don says, ‘Fine.’ Now that indicates that there is an understanding amongst McBee and Bland-ford that Bronger is going to get some money for doing something, too. Now if this doesn’t look like a conspiracy to influence a legislator for some reason other than in his official business, for his official actions, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one. This statement that they’re going to make now is in furtherance of what was previously done, what was told on the boat trip, according to the evidence the United States has offered, that this whole thing is for the harness people, and Riverside Downs is harness people. In light of this analysis, we are persuaded that the district court did not clearly err by admitting the disputed statements. Blandford also claims the court erred by expanding the scope of the conspiracy as well as its intended victim beyond the particular conspiracy offense detailed in his indictment. Specifically, Blandford asserts that the court transformed the conspiracy from one to prevent breed-to-breed legislation into one aimed at the horse bill in its entirety. Moreover, the court, Blandford argues, determined that the targets of the extortion conspiracy were “harness people,” not Riverside Downs as provided for in the indictment. By thus mischaracterizing the nature of the conspiracy, Blandford submits the district court not only “allowed the jury to equate legitimate lobbying on the [horse bill] with corrupt lobbying on ‘breed-to-breed’ ” (appellant’s brief at 23), but also enabled the government “to unload on the jury a vast amount of evidence that otherwise should have been inadmissible.” (Id. at 24.) “A variance occurs when ‘the charging terms [of the indictment]’ are unchanged, but the evidence at trial proves facts materially different from those alleged in the indictment.” United States v. Hathaway, 798 F.2d 902, 910 (6th Cir.1986) (emphasis added). A variance cannot, however, serve as the basis for reversal unless the defendant’s “substantial rights” have been affected. Id. at 911. “Substantial rights, in turn, are af-feeted only when a defendant shows ‘prejudice to his ability to defend himself at trial, to the general fairness of the trial, or to the indictment’s sufficiency to bar subsequent prosecutions.’ ” Id. The defendant has the burden of proving the existence of a variance and that such variance is “fatal.” Id. Based on our review of the record, we are unpersuaded by Blandford’s arguments as to a fatal variance. Indeed, as the government correctly observes, Count 1 of the indictment is not as limited in its allegations as Bland-ford would have this court believe. For instance, Count 1 alleges that Blandford “conspired to obtain property of another” without specifying that Riverside Downs was the only possible source of such property. Because we conclude that a variance has not occurred in the instant ease, we need not consider whether and to what extent Blandford’s substantial rights have been impaired. B. Blandford also challenges his RICO conviction. It is a crime under RICO for any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt. 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c). The Supreme Court has set forth the elements that must be alleged in order to state a claim under § 1962(c) as follows: “(1) conduct (2) of an enterprise (3) through a pattern (4) of racketeering activity.” Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., 473 U.S. 479, 496, 106 S.Ct. 3276, 3286, 87 L.Ed.2d 346 (1985) (footnote omitted); see also Hofstetter v. Fletcher, 905 F.2d 897, 901 (6th Cir.1988). In his first assignment of error relative to his RICO conviction, Blandford argues that his predicate acts of mad fraud were im-permissibly based on an “intangible rights” theory. See McNally v. United States, 483 U.S. 350, 107 S.Ct. 2875, 97 L.Ed.2d 292 (1987). In McNally, the Court held that the mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1341, is “limited in scope to the protection of property rights.” 483 U.S. at 360, 107 S.Ct. at 2882; see also United States v. Kerkman, 866 F.2d 877, 879 (6th Cir.) (“[McNally ] held that [§ 1341] applies only to schemes or artifices which defraud or attempt to defraud someone or something of money or property.”), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 828, 110 S.Ct. 95, 107 L.Ed.2d 59 (1989). As such, the Court determined that the statute “was inapplicable to schemes designed to defraud ‘people or the government of intangible rights, such as the right to have public officials perform their duties honestly.’” Kerkman, 866 F.2d at 879. Blandford further contests the government’s basis for finding fraud in the instant action — his mishandling of campaign funds. He claims that Kentucky law does not prohibit an elected official from using campaign funds for personal use when that official continues to seek re-election to the same office. Again, however, Blandford’s claims are without merit. As to his assertion that the government relied on an intangible rights theory, we agree with the district court that Blandford “ignores the plain language of the indictment.” The court went on to state: “The mail fraud predicates specifically allege that the defendant illegally obtained $6,518.50 from the Campaign Fund and its contributors. This is beyond doubt an allegation that the defendant used the mails to further a scheme to fraudulently obtain money.” Similarly, we reject Blandford’s contention that his actions were not proscribed under Kentucky law. Section 121.180(10) of the Kentucky Revised Statutes provides in pertinent part: Any unexpended balance of funds not otherwise obligated for the payment of expenses incurred to further a political issue or the candidacy of a person shall, at the election of the candidate or committee, es-cheat to the State Treasury, be returned pro rata to all contributors or, in the case of a partisan candidate, be transferred to the executive committee of the political party of which the candidate is a member except that a candidate, committee, or an official may retain such funds to further the same political issue or to seek election to the same office. (Emphasis added). Stated simply, we find Blandford’s interpretation of this provision untenable. While section 121.180(10) may not by its own terms prohibit the use of campaign funds for personal purposes, it clearly does list four different legitimate uses for such funds. In this sense, the instant case is readily distinguishable from a ease upon which Blandford relies, United States v. Pisani 773 F.2d 397 (2d Cir.1985). The defendant in Pisani successfully argued for the reversal of his mail fraud conviction on the ground that New York law did not prohibit a candidate from using campaign funds for personal purposes. In fact, as the court observed, there was no state statute that in any way limited or regulated the use of surplus campaign funds. Here, on the other hand, there does exist a state statute that limits the uses to which excess campaign funds can be put: We consider the four enumerated uses set forth in section 121.180(10) to constitute the entire universe of permissible uses. To be sure, consistent with this provision, an elected official can retain unspent campaign funds, but he may do so only if those funds eventually further the official’s re-election effort. Blandford did not use the campaign funds at issue here in connection with a reelection effort, and thus he did not act in accordance with Kentucky law. Next, Blandford argues that there was insufficient evidence that he foresaw the use of the mail as part of his fraudulent scheme. Blandford’s argument, however, is belied by the record. Indeed, even his chief administrative assistant, Guy, testified that Blandford’s office would routinely send campaign finance reports to the appropriate state and county offices through the mail. See Pereira v. United States, 347 U.S. 1, 8-9, 74 S.Ct. 358, 362-63, 98 L.Ed. 435 (1954) (“Where one does an act with knowledge that the use of the mails will follow in the ordinary course of business, or where such use can reasonably be foreseen, even though not actually intended, then he ‘causes’ the mails to be used.”). Moreover, Blandford conceded that he could not have hand-delivered the January 4, 1988, report because he was in Frankfurt with the General Assembly at the time. In short, the evidence, albeit circumstantial, was sufficient to support the jury’s determination that the reports at issue had been mailed and that the mailings were essential to the successful fulfillment of the fraudulent scheme. In his final attack on his RICO conviction, Blandford maintains that the government failed to establish the existence of an “enterprise” and that the predicate acts did not establish a “pattern” of racketeering activity. The Supreme Court defined and distinguished these concepts in instructing that [i]n order to secure a conviction under RICO, the Government must prove both the existence of an “enterprise” and the connected “pattern of racketeering activity.” The enterprise is an entity, for present purposes a group of persons associated together for a common purpose of engaging in a course of conduct. The pattern of racketeering activity is, on the other hand, a series of criminal acts as defined by the statute. The former is proved by evidence of an ongoing organization, formal or informal, and by evidence that the various associates function as a continuing unit. The latter is proved by evidence of the requisite number of acts of racketeering committed by participants in the enterprise. While the proof used to establish these separate elements may in particular cases coalesce, proof of one does not necessarily establish the other. The “enterprise” is not the “pattern of racketeering activity”; it is an entity separate and apart from the pattern of activity in which it engages. The existence of an enterprise at all times remains a separate element which must be proved by the Government. United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576, 583, 101 S.Ct. 2524, 2528-29, 69 L.Ed.2d 246 (1981) (citation and footnote omitted); see also 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4) (defining RICO “enterprise” to include “any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity”). Here, we are satisfied that the government met its burden of proving both a RICO enterprise and a pattern of racketeering activity. As to the existence of an enterprise, Blandford contends that the “Office of the Representative for House District 14 together with the individuals employed therein” is not, in fact, an “enterprise” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4). He points out that “[t]here was neither a physical entity for the ‘Office’ for House District 14, nor were there any ‘individuals employed therein’.” (Appellant’s Brief at 81.) Even were we to assume that Bland-ford was not in charge of a formal and legally cognizable entity, however, this would not be dispositive of the existence of a RICO enterprise. See Turkette, 452 U.S. at 583, 101 S.Ct. at 2528-29. Under § 1961(4), “associations in fact” also are deemed enterprises. The operation headed by Blandford in the instant action represents just such an enterprise. See, e.g., United States v. Qaoud, 777 F.2d 1105, 1116 (6th Cir.1985) (“A state or local government office or organization may properly be charged as a RICO enterprise.”), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1098, 106 S.Ct. 1499, 89 L.Ed.2d 899 (1986); United States v. Davis, 707 F.2d 880, 883 (6th Cir.1983) (holding that county sheriffs office constituted a RICO enterprise where defendants had used the office and their positions therein to secure bribes); United States v. Thompson, 685 F.2d 993, 998 (6th Cir.) (holding that reference to “The Office of Governor of Tennessee” as enterprise was permissible under RICO), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1072, 103 S.Ct. 494, 74 L.Ed.2d 635 (1982). The district court recognized as much when it ruled that [t]he evidence was clear that the defendant had several employees in his office who performed constituent service for both his constituents as Speaker of the House and his constituents as Representative for the Fourteenth District. These employees performed various duties for the office which constituted the enterprise, including some of the racketeering acts. The evidence supported the jury’s conclusion that an enterprise existed. A “pattern of racketeering activity” is comprised of “at least two acts of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after [October 15, 1970] and the last of which occurred within ten years ... after the commission of a prior act of racketeering activity[.]” 18 U.S.C. § 1961(5); see also Vild v. Visconsi, 956 F.2d 560, 565 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 99, 121 L.Ed.2d 59 (1992). To establish such a pattern, the government must establish not only that at least two predicate acts occurred, but also a “relationship between the predicates” and the “threat of continuing activity[.]” See H.J. Inc. v. Northwestern Bell Tel. Co., 492 U.S. 229, 239, 109 S.Ct. 2893, 2900, 106 L.Ed.2d 195 (1989). “ ‘It is this factor of continuity plus relationship which combines to produce a pattern.’ ” Id. “Continuity and relationship constitute two analytically distinct prongs of the pattern requirement.” Vild, 956 F.2d at 566. The relationship requirement is satisfied if the predicate acts “ ‘have the same or similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods of commission, or otherwise are interrelated by distinguishing characteristics and are not isolated events.’” H.J., Inc., 492 U.S. at 240, 109 S.Ct. at 2901 (emphasis added). The Supreme Court’s use of the disjunctive suggests that the Court meant to craft a broad test of relatedness. See Vild, 956 F.2d at 571 (Guy, J., dissenting) (noting that “the disjunctive indicates that the relatedness requirement is met if the predicate acts are the same or similar in any of the enumerated ways[ ]”). In light of this test, we conclude that the predicate acts in dispute here were sufficiently related. They had as their purpose the use of public office for personal benefit, and they, in fact, resulted in such benefit. In this sense, the acts could be viewed as either sharing similar purposes or results or being “otherwise ... interrelated by distinguishing characteristics.” Again, either characterization would satisfy the broad H.J., Inc. test. In Vild, we discussed at length the continuity requirement. Continuity, we remarked, “is both a closed- and open-ended concept referring either to a closed period of repeated conduct, or to past conduct that by its nature projects into the future with a threat of repetition.” The plaintiff may prove continuity by showing a series of past related predicates occurring over an extended period of time. A few months period usually is not sufficient. A second means of establishing continuity is to show that the predicates, by their nature, “involve a distinct threat of long-term racketeering activity.” ... A third way to prove continuity in this case is to allege “predicates [that] are a regular way of conducting defendant’s ongoing legitimate business ... or of conducting or participating in an ongoing and legitimate ‘RICO enterprise.’ ” 956 F.2d at 569 (citations omitted) (quoting H.J., Inc.). Here, the predicates took place over a period of approximately six years. Moreover, Blandford testified that he saw nothing wrong with putting campaign funds to personal use or with accepting even large amounts of money from lobbyists. Under these circumstances, it is beyond peradventure that Blandford’s conduct “projeet[ed] into the future with a threat of repetition.” c. Turning to the assignments of error Blandford directs at his conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, we consider first his argument that Count 4 should have been dismissed for its failure to specify the statements supporting the charge. Count 4 stated: On or about March 31, 1992, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, Franklin County, Kentucky, in a matter within the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice and the [FBI] ... the defendant, DONALD J. BLANDFORD, did knowingly and willfully make false, fraudulent, and fictitious material statements and representations to [FBI agents], that is, on or about the above date DONALD J. BLANDFORD gave a false explanation for monies he had received ■from William MeBee on February 20, 1992 and March 11, 1992, at the Capital Plaza Hotel in Frankfurt, Kentucky. Without citing any authority, Blandford urges this court to extend our ruling in a § 1863 perjury case, United States v. Eddy, 737 F.2d 564 (6th Cir.1984), to this § 1001 dispute. In Eddy, we stated that “in perjury cases, ‘[n]o guessing is tolerated [in the drafting of a perjury indictment] and the indictment must set out the allegedly perjurious statements and the objective truth in stark contrast so that the claim of falsity is clear to all who read the charge.’” Id. at 567. “The basic Constitutional standard by which to judge the sufficiency of an indictment is mandated by the Sixth Amendment which requires that the indictment inform the defendant of ‘the nature and cause of the accusation.’” United States v. Piccolo, 723 F.2d 1234, 1238 (6th Cir.1983) (en banc), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 970, 104 S.Ct. 2342, 80 L.Ed.2d 817 (1984). As we stated in United States v. Gray, 790 F.2d 1290 (6th Cir.1986), rev’d on other grounds, 483 U.S. 350, 107 S.Ct. 2875, 97 L.Ed.2d 292 (1987): An indictment provides adequate notice to a defendant “when it permits the defendant to obtain ‘significant protections which the guarantee of a grand jury indictment was intended to confer.’ ” The sufficiency of an indictment is governed by two “preliminary criteria”: [Fjirst, whether the indictment “contains the elements of the offense intended to be charged, ‘and sufficiently apprises the defendant of what he must be prepared to meet,’ ” and, secondly, “ ‘in case any other proceedings are taken against him for a similar offense whether the record shows with accuracy to what extent he may plead a former acquittal or conviction.’ ” Id. at 1296-97 (citing, inter alia, Russell v. United States, 369 U.S. 749, 82 S.Ct. 1038, 8 L.Ed.2d 240 (1962)). Notwithstanding the fact that the indictment did not set forth the precise statements made by Blandford, we find the indictment satisfied the principles enunciated in Gray. The indictment alleged that Blandford had made material statements that were false or fraudulent and that he had done so knowingly and willfully. It set forth the nature of the statements as well as when and to whom they were made. It also specified that the statements pertained to an activity within the jurisdiction of a federal agency. See United States v. Steele, 933 F.2d 1313, 1318-19 (6th Cir.) (en banc) (discussing elements of § 1001 offense), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 303, 116 L.Ed.2d 246 (1991). Moreover, a bill of particulars and a revised bill provided Blandford with a more detailed account of the precise statements that supported his § 1001 prosecution. Count 4 of the indictment therefore presented Bland-ford with adequate notice of the offense for which he was charged. Blandford further maintains that the evidence against him was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict. In reaching its verdict, the jury identified three specific question and answer sequences during which Blandford gave false explanations for his receipt of money from McBee at the February 20 and March 11 dinners. Blandford contests each of the sequences, arguing that his responses were “limited to cash campaign contributions” or merely “flat denials” as opposed to “false explanations.” An analysis of Blandford’s statements in their greater context, however, undermines both assertions. In other words, not only do the statements pertain to more than simply campaign contributions, but they also were offered to explain (falsely) the reason behind Blandford’s acceptance of the funds in question. The jury clearly reached the same determination, one that we see no reason to disturb. In his final challenge to his § 1001 conviction, Blandford asserts that his statements were not “material” within the meaning of the statute. In Steele, we noted that: A statement is material for purposes of section 1001 if it has a “natural tendency to influence, or be capable of affecting or influencing,” a function entrusted to a governmental agency. It is not necessary to show that the statement actually influenced an agency, but only that it had the capacity to do so. A materiality determination is subject to de novo review on appeal. Id. at 1319 (citations omitted). According to Blandford, “the only claim of ‘materiality’ the government could muster was [Agent] Whit-worth’s testimony that he later asked Spurrier whether Spurrier gave $500 to McBee for Blandford.” (Appellant’s Brief at 34.) Because the government already “had the facts,” he adds, the government’s investigation was merely inconvenienced, if it was hindered