While Williams never got the funding for the medical tests he so desired, it didn’t stop Gov. McDonnell from going out of his way to promote the product to health officials and others. Perhaps it wasn’t the result he wanted, but no one can say that Williams’ gifts gave him no influence over McDonnell whatsoever:
“The gifts included nearly $20,000 in designer clothing and accessories for McDonnell’s wife, a $6,500 engraved Rolex watch, $15,000 in catering for their daughter’s wedding, and free family vacations and golf trips for their boys. Williams also provided three loans totaling $120,000.
As the gifts came in, McDonnell helped set up meetings with state health officials, appeared at promotional events and even hosted a launch luncheon for the dietary supplement at the governor’s mansion. Williams was seeking state money and the credibility of Virginia’s universities to perform clinical research that would support his company’s drug.
McDonnell insists that he never put any pressure on state officials and that Williams ultimately never got the official action he wanted — state funding for medical studies on the dietary pills. The former governor argued the Justice Department was unfairly criminalizing ‘everyday acts’ that are a typical part of job, leaving every public official across the nation subject to the whims of prosecutors.
A federal appeals court unanimously upheld the former governor’s convictions last year.
McDonnell’s wife, Maureen, also was convicted of corruption and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Her appeal has been on hold while the Supreme Court considered her husband’s case.”
As experts point out, this makes it more difficult to prosecute corrupt politicians:
Jessica Tillipman, a lecturer at the George Washington University Law School, told Yahoo News that it’s going to be “much, much tougher” for prosecutors to gather enough evidence to reach this new standard of corruption. That is, authorities will need to establish documented, overt pressure.
“What’s shocking in this instance is that your average American looks at this case and sees corruption,” Tillipman said. “There’s a distance between the law and what citizens consider corruption.”
Tillipman said academics who teach and write about anticorruption were concerned that the ruling would come down this way as soon as the Supreme Court accepted it.
McDonnell maintains that he never took “official action” to help Williams or put any pressure on other public servants to take such actions. But McDonnell did help arrange meetings for Williams with Virginia health officials and appear at promotional events. He maintains that the Justice Department was persecuting him for doing something that came with the territory of his position.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion for the unanimous Supreme Court decision that the instructions to the trial jury for what constitutes an “official act” were broad enough that it might stop U.S. officials from interacting with their constituents.
“There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes and ball gowns,” Roberts wrote. “It is instead with the broader legal implications of the government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute. A more limited interpretation of the term ‘official act’ leaves ample room for prosecuting corruption, while comporting with the text of the statute and the precedent of this court.”
Source: Boston Globe, Yahoo
Photo: Eric Brown
Still they don’t have that power!
FIRE THIS$#%&!@* THIS IDIOT IS A TRAITOR OF THE PEOPLE, WONDER HOW MUCH HIS BANK ACCOUNT RAISED. WE KNOW IT’S A PAY OFF FROM THE CLINTON’S AND OBAMA
Lets see about that after hes out of office, or before.
time for an up rise men past due take the weeds out !up rise & kill all roaches & evil parasites feeding on America the free or u to shall fall it’s not fun watching ur family being murdered in front of u !every f*g every liberal little brat !every democratic piece of garbage helping this muslim garbage walk in well u to will meet ur demise just look at the fags that the Muslims pushed off the top of buildings all u idiots who think u gonna coexist with these people are very much wrong u will be murdered soon after they don’t need u
Yup
TIME TO REPLACE THE COURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If we have a convention of States, can we dissolve this Supreme Court ????? Fire them.
Of coarse
The Supreme Court has been slowing moving away from it real task of rulings based on the Constitution and Bill of Rights for a while now and it seems they have adopted Congress and the President’s thought that they are better than the American People and therefore don’t have to listen to us anymore
It highlights that the American justice system is increasing corrupt and sometimes blatantly biased. Government protections for the public are failing us. http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/California-judiciary-s-toothless-watchdog-7421117.php The California Judges Association sent a letter http://www.clrc.ca.gov/pub/2016/MM16-19.pdf, supporting laws that legalize malpractice. These judges express clear bias against plaintiffs. There is public opposition. https://www.change.org/p/the-california-law-revision-commission-change-the-statutes-that-legalize-malpractice