McDonnell tells Supreme Court he never exchanged official acts for gifts
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Version 0 of 1. Former Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his lawyers formally asked the Supreme Court on Monday to overturn his conviction on corruption charges, asserting that he never exchanged any “official acts” for what were otherwise lawful gifts. The Supreme Court agreed in January to hear McDonnell’s appeal, and the brief was filed in advance of oral arguments. McDonnell and his wife were convicted in 2014 after being accused of intervening with state officials in exchange for $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods. The brief said the governor’s acts “were limited to the most routine political activities” and argued that he was the first official ever convicted despite “never agreeing to put a thumb on the scales of any government decision.” The prosecution theory “made every public official vulnerable to prosecution,” McDonnell’s brief contended. In gaining a conviction, the brief asserted, prosecutors persuaded lower courts to “disregard every relevant constitutional principle, and stretch the corruption laws beyond recognition.” . |