Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) "used his influence to open doors in Washington for a Hollywood producer pitching a television show after the producer paid him a $23,000 option on a screenplay," the Los Angeles Times reports.
"House ethics rules allow members of Congress to receive outside payments for works of fiction, poetry, lyrics or scripts as long as the payment is not offered because of the lawmaker's congressional status." A quid pro quo, however, would be illegal.