Last visit was: 23 Apr 2026, 03:21 It is currently 23 Apr 2026, 03:21
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
555-605 (Medium)|   Weaken|      
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 23 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,773
Own Kudos:
810,735
 [4]
Given Kudos: 105,853
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,773
Kudos: 810,735
 [4]
The lobbyist accused of offering a large cash bribe to the senator 25 Apr 2025, 00:30
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

35% (medium)

Question Stats:

69% (01:22) correct 31% (01:41) wrong based on 244 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The lobbyist accused of offering a large cash bribe to the senator defended himself: "When I left the house that day, I was carrying no money with me, so I could not possibly have had anything to offer to the senator. Moreover, immediately before I met with the senator, I spent all my cash on lunch with a colleague at an upscale restaurant, which also explains why I was not in a position to offer the senator a bribe."

This argument is most vulnerable to what criticism?

(A) It offers a conclusion that is no more than a paraphrase of one piece of the pieces of information provided in its support.

(B) It presents as evidence in support of a claim information that is inconsistent with other evidence presented in support of the same claim.

(C) It does not preserve the proper time relationship between cause and effect.

(D) It presents two pieces of evidence that do not support the same conclusion.

(E) It confuses basic financial information with legal claims.


­
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
B
User avatar
azizlake
User avatar
Joined: 16 Apr 2025
Last visit: 10 Apr 2026
Posts: 2
Own Kudos:
1
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1
Posts: 2
Kudos: 1
 [1]
The lobbyist accused of offering a large cash bribe to the senator 25 Apr 2025, 00:49
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
(B); he said he left with no money, but then used all his money to pay for lunch.
User avatar
studentforever
User avatar
Joined: 12 Apr 2025
Last visit: 27 Sep 2025
Posts: 9
Own Kudos:
2
 [1]
Given Kudos: 21
Posts: 9
Kudos: 2
 [1]
The lobbyist accused of offering a large cash bribe to the senator 25 Apr 2025, 09:12
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The lobbyist makes two main claims to defend himself:

Bunuel
The lobbyist accused of offering a large cash bribe to the senator defended himself: "When I left the house that day, I was carrying no money with me, so I could not possibly have had anything to offer to the senator. Moreover, immediately before I met with the senator, I spent all my cash on lunch with a colleague at an upscale restaurant, which also explains why I was not in a position to offer the senator a bribe."

Let's Analyze -


  1. He left his house with no money, so he couldn't have offered a bribe.
  2. He spent all his cash on lunch before meeting the senator, so he couldn't have offered a bribe.
The problem is that these two pieces of evidence contradict each other:

  • The first claim says he had no money at all when he left home.
  • The second claim says he did have money (which he spent on lunch).
These two statements can't both be true - if he had no money when he left home, he couldn't have spent money on lunch. This inconsistency makes the argument vulnerable to criticism. Now, looking at the options

This argument is most vulnerable to what criticism?

(A) It offers a conclusion that is no more than a paraphrase of one piece of the pieces of information provided in its support.
Not correct - the conclusion isn't just a paraphrase of one piece of information.

(B) It presents as evidence in support of a claim information that is inconsistent with other evidence presented in support of the same claim.
Correct - this describes exactly the problem: the two pieces of evidence are inconsistent with each other.

(C) It does not preserve the proper time relationship between cause and effect.
Not correct - there's no issue with time relationships between cause and effect.

(D) It presents two pieces of evidence that do not support the same conclusion.
Not quite correct - both pieces do support the same conclusion (he couldn't have bribed), just in inconsistent ways.

(E) It confuses basic financial information with legal claims.
Not correct - there's no confusion between financial information and legal claims.


­
Show more
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 23 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,773
Own Kudos:
810,735
Given Kudos: 105,853
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,773
Kudos: 810,735
The lobbyist accused of offering a large cash bribe to the senator 04 May 2025, 02:15
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
The lobbyist accused of offering a large cash bribe to the senator defended himself: "When I left the house that day, I was carrying no money with me, so I could not possibly have had anything to offer to the senator. Moreover, immediately before I met with the senator, I spent all my cash on lunch with a colleague at an upscale restaurant, which also explains why I was not in a position to offer the senator a bribe."

This argument is most vulnerable to what criticism?

(A) It offers a conclusion that is no more than a paraphrase of one piece of the pieces of information provided in its support.

(B) It presents as evidence in support of a claim information that is inconsistent with other evidence presented in support of the same claim.

(C) It does not preserve the proper time relationship between cause and effect.

(D) It presents two pieces of evidence that do not support the same conclusion.

(E) It confuses basic financial information with legal claims.
Show more


Official Explanation



The lobbyist presents a self-contradictory argument. He says

I. he left the house with no money

II. he spent all his cash on lunch

If he truly left the house with no money, he would not have had cash to spend on lunch. Both of these statements can't be true simultaneously. Yet, both of them are presented as evidence to the claim "I didn't bribe the senator."

(B) is the credited answer. Two pieces of evidence contradict each other. That's precisely the problem with this argument.

(A) is not correct. The conclusion, "I could not have bribed the senator" is not paraphrase of anything said previously in the argument.

(C) is not correct; there is no problem with time relationship --- leaving house, then having lunch, then seeing the senator. The "effect" for which he is arguing happens last, and the reputed causes happen before it: that is the proper time sequence for a causal chain.

(D) is not correct; each piece of evidence, by itself, would support the conclusion; they just contradict each other.

(E) is a wonderful distractor. Here, bribery is both a financial matter and a legal matter, so there is no confusion: consideration from both the financial and the legal spheres are appropriate.
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7391 posts
AbhishekP220108
501 posts
bhanu29
358 posts