“You never know what God has got in store.”
— Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), quoted by the Virginian-Pilot, on running for office again after the Supreme Court unanimously overturned his corruption conviction.
McDonnell Still Owes Lawyers $10 Million
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) still owes more than $10 million to the lawyers who ultimately got his federal corruption conviction overturned, the AP reports.
Scalia’s Death Could Send McDonnell to Jail
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell may be the biggest loser after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Politico reports.
“Scalia was considered among the most receptive justices to McDonnell’s argument that his conviction on corruption charges improperly relied on the kind of favors that are commonplace on the American political scene… If the court can’t muster five votes in Scalia’s absence to overturn McDonnell’s conviction, the appeals court ruling upholding his sentence is likely to kick in, and he could be sent to prison.”
Court Won’t Hear McDonnell’s Appeal
“A federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to review the case of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, letting his convictions on public corruption charges stand,” the AP reports.
“It’s unclear whether Bob McDonnell will now be required to report to prison. He can still appeal his convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Judge Denies McDonnell Effort to Remain Free
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) “must report to prison on Feb. 9 after a federal judge today turned down his request to remain free on bond while he appeals his 11 corruption convictions,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
McDonnell Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) was sentenced to two years in prison today, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
“McDonnell cast his eyes downward as Spencer announced the sentence. Family and friends broke into tears. The sentencing came after a parade of character witnesses and McDonnell’s own statement to the court.”
“McDonnell could have been sentenced to a longer term — earlier Spencer lowered the sentencing guideline range from more than 10 years to six and a half years to eight years and a month. But the judge is also allowed to sentenced above and below the guideline.”
Bob McDonnell Waits
Washington Post: “In the strange four months of enforced limbo that have separated McDonnell’s shocking guilty verdict from his much-anticipated sentencing Tuesday, the former Republican governor has in some ways presided over an extended wake for his own once-promising political and personal future.”
“It has been an emotional time for McDonnell, who potentially faces a sentence of a decade or more in prison. Friends and associates say the 60-year-old former governor has struggled to process how 12 Virginians could believe that he is a criminal, selling his office in exchange for $177,000 in loans and luxury gifts and vacations from a dietary supplement company executive. Friends say he has been downright depressed on some days, but more upbeat on others, smiling nostalgically when talking about his time in office, a time when he was popular enough that it was thought he might be planning a presidential campaign this year.”
Interesting detail: “But he has remained estranged from his wife, Maureen, who was convicted along with him, and has been blamed by many close to McDonnell for creating the scandal. After 38 years of marriage, the two left the courthouse separately after the September verdict and did not speak that night.”
McDonnell Daughter Blames Mom for Legal Troubles
“One of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell’s daughters says his stunning downfall and conviction on public corruption charges can largely be attributed to the corrosive effects of just one person: her mother,” the Washington Post reports.
Write Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky: “My mom… has always been concerned about getting discounts or freebees. She hid her coordination with people for free or discounted things or services and she didn’t communicate with my dad because she knew he would not approve… The testimony about my mom was not just part of a defense strategy and was not an attempt to ‘throw her under the bus,’ but unfortunately, was the reality.”
McDonnell Will Ask Judge for Community Service
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), “convicted in September on 11 federal corruption charges, will ask the court to consider several options for his sentencing other than prison time,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
One proposal would have him working two years in Haiti at a home for disabled children, handling clean water and disease prevention programs and operating a fish farm.
McDonnell’s sentencing is scheduled for January 6, 2015.
10 Years in Prison Recommended for McDonnell
“The federal agency that will play a pivotal role in guiding the sentence of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell has recommended that the onetime Republican rising star spend at least 10 years and a month in prison,” the Washington Post reports.
