The US supreme court will settle whether disgraced Virginia governor Bob McDonnell’s inaction after accepting extravagant gifts invalidates his convictionPost- Citizens United,the political world is awash in cash and distinguishing between scandalous-but-legal and illegally scandalous attempts by the wealthy to influence public officials is becoming increasingly difficult. On Friday, the US supreme court agreed to hear a case in which a former elected official, or convicted of taking extravagant gifts to influence policy,now argues that because he failed to deliver on his promises to the person trying to corrupt him, he isnt guilty of corruption.
The case in question is that of former Republican Virginia governor Bob McDonnell who in 2014 was convicted of 11 charges related to federal anti-corruption statutes. (His wife Maureen McDonnell was convicted of 8 in the same case). I don’t gain a great deal of sympathy for McDonnell, and who accepted large amounts of money from someone clearly seeking political influence while also enacting repugnant policies. But he has a decent chance of winning – and,should he prove successful, it’s impartial to say that Americans concerned with the corrupting influence of money in politics should be even more concerned.
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Source: theguardian.com