LAT:

Does receiving ‘dirt’ on an opponent count?

Daniel P. Tokaji, a law professor at Ohio State University, said he did not believe so.

“My view is that an in-kind contribution has to have some determinate economic value,” he said.

Brad Smith, a law professor at Capital University in Ohio and a former FEC chairman, agreed, saying that conversations with foreign nationals are not unlawful. But if those talks involve a foreign government agent going out and spending money to compile information on a candidate’s behalf, it could be, he said….

Nonetheless, Smith found Trump’s remarks troubling.

“I think it’s legitimate for Americans to be concerned that the president is perhaps too cavalier about foreign sources,” he said.