Court blocks former Virginia governor's bid to stay out of prison
By Gary Robertson
RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday denied a request by former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell to remain out of prison while he appeals his corruption convictions to the Supreme Court.
McDonnell, once a rising star in the Republican Party, 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.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request by McDonnell, who was governor from 2010 until 2014, in a one-paragraph ruling that did not make clear when he would be required to begin serving his two-year sentence.
The same appeals court this month had denied McDonnell's appeal of his conviction.
Hours after the ruling, McDonnell asked the Supreme Court for an emergency stay of the decision. His petition said he would be forced to report to federal prison anytime after Aug. 27.
Lawyers for McDonnell, the first Virginia governor to be convicted on criminal charges, had argued that he did not represent a flight risk or threat to public safety and thus did not need to be imprisoned.
"I am saddened by the court's decision today to deny me freedom while I pursue vindication in the U.S. Supreme Court," McDonnell said, according to a statement published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
McDonnell's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McDonnell argued during his appeal that he had not promised or performed any "official acts" for Williams, a point prosecutors had to prove. He also contended that the definition of "official acts" was so broad that it would make a crime out of routine political dealings.
Maureen McDonnell was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and has also been free pending appeal.
The state's attorney general, a Democrat, ruled last month that McDonnell could be stripped of his pension benefits as a result of the conviction under a law that McDonnell signed while in office.
(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson, Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Bill Trott and Eric Beech)
