Convicted Virginia ex-governor asks to stay free pending high court appeal

(Reuters) - Former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell asked a U.S. appeals court on Thursday to remain out of prison pending appeal of his corruption convictions to the Supreme Court.

Lawyers for McDonnell, a one-time rising star in the Republican Party, filed the motion in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

A three-judge panel of the court in July upheld McDonnell's 11 convictions. The full court denied the appeal on Tuesday.

McDonnell, 61, "remains neither a flight risk nor a threat to public safety, and the questions presented by his case remain 'substantial,' notwithstanding that a panel of this Court has rejected them," the 23-page filing said.

McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in September of taking $177,000 in gifts and loans from businessman Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting one of his company’s dietary supplements.

U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer sentenced McDonnell to two years in prison and he has remained free pending the outcome of his appeal. He is the first Virginia governor to be convicted on criminal charges.

Maureen McDonnell was sentenced to one year and

one day in prison. She also has remained free pending her appeal, which is scheduled to be heard in October.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Doina Chiacu)