"Ex-Va. governor’s corruption conviction stands" Washington Post July 11, 2015
WASHINGTON — A federal appellate court in Richmond on Thursday unanimously affirmed the public corruption convictions against former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell, in an opinion that said the onetime Republican rising star ‘‘received a fair trial and was duly convicted by a jury of his fellow Virginians.’’
The decision by a three-judge panel rejected arguments by McDonnell about why his convictions should be thrown out — or why he should at least get a new trial.
It also brings to a close an important chapter in the story that emerged more than two years ago when The Washington Post first reported on the governor’s relationship with a Richmond executive trying to promote his business.
While McDonnell’s attorneys have vowed previously to take the case to the US Supreme Court — and his wife is pursuing a separate, ongoing appeal — it appears he now will be sent to federal prison to start serving his two-year sentence.
McDonnell has been vigorously asserting his innocence since the day last year that he and his wife were charged with public corruption, and that effort did not stop when jurors decided in September that the pair corruptly lent the prestige of the governor’s office to businessman Jonnie Williams for $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods.
McDonnell’s wide-ranging appeal included an assertion that he neither agreed to nor performed any so-called ‘‘official acts” for Williams. The appeals court’s panel disagreed.
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Also see: Done With McDonnell
