Former Attorneys General Barr, Ashcroft: PG Sittenfeld's convictions should be overturned

Former attorneys general under three Republican presidents, the former head federal prosecutor for the southern half of Ohio and a collection of law professors with expertise in public corruption are among those who have filed briefs supporting a former Cincinnati city councilman convicted of corruption.

The amicus briefs were filed late Monday in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a week after attorneys for former City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld filed his appeal, saying his convictions for bribery and attempted extortion had criminalized typical political fundraising and could lead to bribery prosecutions against every politician.

Former Attorney General William Barr − who served under former Presidents Donald Trump and George H.W. Bush − as well as Michael Mukasey and John Ashcroft, who both served as attorney general under President George W. Bush, signed an amicus brief urging the federal appeals court to reject Sittenfeld's convictions.

"To hold otherwise would give the government license to rely on lawful campaign contributions to criminalize commonplace election activities," the brief says.

Federal prosecutors: Sittenfeld conduct 'not criminal'

A separate brief filed on behalf of sixteen former federal prosecutors, including Carter Stewart, an appointee of former President Barack Obama who previously headed the same U.S. Attorney's Office that prosecuted Sittenfeld, said Sittenfeld was convicted based on conduct "that was not criminal."

Sittenfeld is scheduled to report to prison Jan. 2 to begin serving a 16-month sentence. The sentence was handed down in October, more than a year after a jury in federal court in Cincinnati found him guilty of bribery and attempted extortion.

In a Nov. 30 ruling, the 6th Circuit denied a request by Sittenfeld's attorneys to allow him to remain out of prison while his appeal is pending.

Sittenfeld's convictions involved $20,000 in payments from undercover FBI agents to his political action committee.

Prosecutors said Sittenfeld, a Democrat, used his position of power within local government to extract financial contributions from people who regularly conducted city business. Sittenfeld, they said, made clear that his support for their city business was tied directly to their contributions to him.

“This is not faithful public service or even 'politics as usual' − this is corruption," prosecutors said in documents filed in advance of his sentencing.

'An Alice-in-Wonderland world'

The brief filed on behalf of five law professors said Sittenfeld is facing prison time, despite having rejected the undercover agent's offer to contribute to his campaign if Sittenfeld promised to support a development project.

Sittenfeld refused that offer, saying it would be illegal and that "nothing can be a quid pro quo."

If "rejecting a quid pro quo means accepting it, then we are in an Alice-in-Wonderland world where words have no meaning," the law professors' brief says.

Federal prosecutors have not yet filed a response to the appeal. But during the trial they said Sittenfeld, in fact, agreed to a quid pro quo, promising to vote in support of the project in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars to his political action committee.

Other amicus briefs

Others who signed amicus briefs, include:

• White House Counsels under former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump

• Former Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste

• Former Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher

• Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown

• Former Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory

Sittenfeld's legal team includes Washington, D.C. attorneys Yaakov Roth and James Burnham, who handled the appeal for former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell who saw his corruption convictions thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.

McDonnell was convicted in 2014 of accepting gifts and loans from a wealthy businessman in exchange for performing official acts.

In a statement, Roth and Burnham said they are confident that Sittenfeld's "deeply flawed convictions will meet the same fate in the 6th Circuit" as McDonnell's did in the Supreme Court.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Former AGs Barr, Ashcroft: Sittenfeld convictions should be overturned