Our news partners at the Washington Post report a federal court rejected former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell’s request to stay out of prison during his appeal.
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Bob McDonnell was convicted by a jury in September 2014 in a political scandal where he gave favors to former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. McDonnell’s attorneys note in the filing he could finish serving his two-year prison sentence before the Supreme Court rules whether the conviction was justified.
According to legal experts, McDonnell could be behind bars within a few months.
McDonnell has said that he will appeal his conviction to the high court, which would require a separate request of the court from his emergency petition to remain free.
McDonnell said Thursday shortly after the appellate court decision that he will ask the Supreme Court to grant him bond while he pursues his appeal there.
The former governor was sentenced to two years in prison; his wife to a year and a day.
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit upheld Bob McDonnell’s convictions in July.
“I think there’s a chance, but it’s probably a longshot”, Tobias said Thursday. The agency then sends a certified letter to the defendant telling him where and when to report to prison. The former governor said he is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
McDonnell’s lawyers weren’t immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.
Maureen McDonnell wants corruption charges thrown out in her case, but not in her husband’s.
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McDonnell was vetted by Mitt Romney as a running mate in 2012, and was once considered a potential 2016 presidential candidate, as an established center-right victor in a critical swing state. In a brief filed in the 4th Circuit, her lawyers say the appeals court decision to not overturn her husband’s convictions should not mean her own appeal suffers the same fate.
