Comment Re:weird (Score 1) 120
That's verbal. You can swear up and down that you phrased it "I won't even negotiate for less than $30k," and then refuse every offer they send you in the negotiation and you're fine because they don't have an actual record of what you said. If they email you an offer for $5k, and you respond with a "firm $30k," and it's all in writing because it's email, that's a much different legal problem. They have a Federal case should they choose to pursue it.
You can probably get out of the deal, but that's going to depend on the exact phrasing of the rest of your emails to/from them, and you're going to need an actual Federal contract attorney. The Judge might even buy "I was just joking" as a defense because both parties have to be seriously negotiating for it to be a real contract negotiation, but the judge might not buy that.