[ExNewsExSpook]

Not totally unexpected, given the vagueness of Virginia's public corruption laws at the time--and the fact that past governors (including Tim Kaine) also accepted gifts while in office. What was surprising was SCOTUS's unanimous decision to vacate the conviction, giving some idea of what the justices thought of the original case, the jury's decision and the affirmation of McDonnell's conviction by the 4th Circuit.

Unclear if Obama Justice Department will go ahead with a retrial or simply drop the charges.

[ZULU]

The title says it all. Makes it more difficult to obtain corruption charges against elected officials. They can use this decision to their own personal advantage.

[HokieMom]

The democrats got their way: Virginia went blue that year and a fairly popular governor was taken out of the running for future public office. I hope this ruling changes McDonnell’s future. I’ll vote for him again.

[cuban leaf]

It is difficult to fault unanimous decisions.

[kabar]

I am of two minds on this Is this just another example of two standards of justice, one for the elites and one for the rest of us? Can we expect similar treatment for Hillary?

Or is this a case of justice being applied inappropriately on a partisan basis?

[apillar]

Yep, Court throws out the democrats trumped up charges against McDonnell. Of course the charges served their purpose, they tainted McDonnell and his successor enough for Clinton shill Terry McCauliff (who ironically is now also under federal investigation) to get elected.

[Red Badger]

Hillary, call on line one. Please pick up on the red courtesy phone.......................

[Lisbon1940]

I wish BobMac had taken one for the team

[bert]

Rat poison to exterminate those that brought the charges is required.

[mrsmith]

Where does he go to get his reputation back?

[wastoute]

I have said all along that his problem was not that he was on the take. His problem was he didn’t take ENOUGH.

[thoughtomator]

Establishment wins again. Damaged the GOP brand in Virginia just enough to put McAuliffe over the top in an extremely tight race against Cuccinelli, and now with the conviction vacated, it becomes more difficult to prosecute political corruption.

[bmwcyle]

Witch Hunt defeated.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Compare the quid pro quo in this case with the hundreds of millions of the Clinton Crime Family escapades. What’s the FBI’s excuse for the no action.

[Nero Germanicus]

The federal prosecutor in this case, Dana J. Boente is a 32 year veteran of the Justice Department. He originally was hired at DOJ during the Reagan Administration, in 1984.
In his opinion, Chief Justice Roberts said: “There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute” .
“A more limited interpretation of the term ‘official act’ leaves ample room for prosecuting corruption, while comporting with the text of the statute and the precedent of this Court.”