Sunday, June 19, 2016

UPCOMING SUPREME COURT DECISION ON POLITICAL CORRUPTION, plus CITIZEN'S UNITED decision


"the Supreme Court is reconsidering the legal scope of official corruption in a case that began with a dietary supplement.
On its face, the case may seem straightforward: Did Bob McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia, personally gain by promoting the product while in office? In 2014, a federal jury concluded that he did.
The outcome of Mr. McDonnell’s appeal, which may be announced as early as this week, is being monitored by defense lawyers, particularly in New York, where the two former leaders of the State Legislature were granted reprieves in reporting to prison this summer pending the court’s decision this month.
Prosecutors argued that Mr. McDonnell violated the Hobbs Act by depriving Virginians of his “honest services” as governor. He and his wife, Maureen, were convicted on corruption charges for receiving an engraved silver Rolex, $120,000 in loans, a $20,000 shopping spree, $15,000 for a daughter’s wedding expenses, a $10,000 engagement check and other gifts from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., chief executive of the company that makes the supplement, a pill derived from tobacco plants that is intended to alleviate pain. In return, prosecutors said, Mr. McDonnell hosted a promotional party for the pill at the governor’s mansion and prodded state universities to help research the supplement’s benefits."
 
Were these 'gifts,' totaling thousands of dollars just friendly 'gifts'?  A jury didn't believe it, and neither do I.  If the Court allows McDonnell to get away with this, it will be a horrible decision.  You think things are bad now?
 
On a related issues, as in this article,  the left continues to harp about the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.  There are plenty of ways to buy votes that have existed for hundreds of years.  Setting up PAC which benefits a  candidate is one of a thousand ways to buy a candidate.  It strains credibility to argue that Citizen's United has made a significant change in an already long-term  fundamentally corrupt system.    It's time to get serious about corruption. I guess complaining about Citizen's United is a good way to pretend to care about the problem.

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