RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Several members of Virginia's congressional delegation are asking Attorney General Loretta Lynch not to bring another case against former Gov. Bob McDonnell.
In a letter recently sent to the U.S. Justice Department, Republican Rep. Scott Rigell and others say it would be "unwise and unfair" to retry McDonnell after the Supreme Court unanimously overturned his corruption conviction in June. The letter says McDonnell's family has suffered financially and emotionally over the past three years.
McDonnell, a Republican, was convicted for doing favors for a wealthy businessman in exchange for gifts and loans. The Supreme Court said McDonnell's actions were distasteful but didn't necessarily violate federal bribery laws.
Democratic Rep. Don Beyer and Republican Reps. David Brat, Barbara Comstock, Randy Forbes, Morgan Griffith and Rob Wittman also signed the letter.
Former Congressman Chaka Fattah
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Former congressman Chaka Fattah (SHAH'-kah fa-TAH') of Philadelphia hopes to overturn his racketeering and bribery conviction with help from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Fattah's lawyers say the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of political bribery when it threw out former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's conviction in June.
Fattah was convicted days earlier of all 22 counts in a federal corruption case.
Defense lawyers in court papers Monday say he shouldn't have been convicted of racketeering because there's no evidence he conspired with his four co-defendants.
They also say the gifts he received from a businessman stemmed from their friendship and not Fattah's position. They say the Supreme Court in the McDonnell case says that doesn't constitute bribery by an official.
Fattah is set to be sentenced Oct. 4.
Ex-Virginia Lawmaker
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A former Virginia lawmaker serving a nearly 10 year prison sentence for a bribery and extortion conviction hopes a recent ruling in ex-Gov. Bob McDonnell's case could set him free.
Phil Hamilton asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week to let him to file a new application for relief in light of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned McDonnell's corruption conviction.
Hamilton was convicted in 2011 of securing a job as director of a teacher training center that he helped create with taxpayer money.
The Supreme Court said in June that McDonnell's actions benefiting a businessman who gave him gifts may have been distasteful but didn't cross the line into illegal conduct.
Legal experts say they expect others to try to take advantage of the McDonnell ruling.
