The Supreme Court announced Friday it will review former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell’s 2014 conviction for public corruption.
#SCOTUS will review case of former VA governor Bob McDonnell
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) January 15, 2016
A jury found the Republican governor and his wife, Maureen, guilty for accepting thousands of dollars in gifts, including loans and vacations, in return for favors directed toward the benefactor, Virginia businessman Jonnie Williams, who had been the CEO of a dietary supplement maker.
McDonnell’s lawyers argue that the favors were just “routine political courtesies” to a businessman in the state. The prosecution had argued in appeals court that despite the case’s lacking of a bribery scheme, a politician is still benefiting by accepting gifts or services in exchange for helping the benefactor.
A federal appeals court upheld the conviction in July, and the Supreme Court permitted McDonnell to remain free while the court considered reviewing his case.
McDonnell admitted accepting a $14,000 check from Williams to help pay for his daughter’s wedding. He also took more than $100,000 in loans for his real estate business while Maureen — who has been described as the instigator of the questionable relationship — went on New York shopping sprees on Williams’ dime.
Before the scandal broke, McDonnell had been a rising Republican star and had been on 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s shortlist for vice president.
He was sentenced to two years in prison and his wife was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
