His next step is an attempt before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Advertisement
“I am innocent of these charges and will petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a grant of bond”, McDonnell said in the statement.
It was nearly a year ago that McDonnell, and his wife Maureen McDonnell, were convicted of accepting more than $165,000 in bribes in the form of trips, loans, and gifts from Jonnie Williams Sr., the former CEO of Star Scientific.
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit upheld Bob McDonnell’s convictions in July.
McDonnell’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McDonnell’s attorneys noted in the filing that he could finish serving his two-year prison sentence before the Supreme Court rules whether the conviction was justified.
Amy Tenney, a white collar crime professor at American University Washington College of Law, says that McDonnell likely has a month or so before he would be expected to report to prison. McDonnell asked the court to state in writing that he could remain free while seeking Supreme Court review. The agency then sends a certified letter to the defendant telling him where and when to report to prison.
The process can take a few weeks.
“This is the last opportunity for the governor to avoid prison”, Tenney says.
Maureen McDonnell wants corruption charges thrown out in her case, but not in her husband’s.
Advertisement
The former republican governor asked to have his corruption convictions set aside. Her lawyers argued Wednesday that while her husband’s appeal resolved numerous issues in her case, the federal bribery statute under which they both were convicted was unconstitutionally vague – at least when it came to the former first lady.
