Virginia’s former governor received a lighter sentence than many legal experts predicted following his corruption trial. Bob McDonnell will serve two years in a federal prison and remain on parole for two years. Sandy Hausman spoke with two men who had kept a close watch on the case.
At George Mason University, Assistant Law School Dean Richard Kelsey had predicted a fairly lenient sentence.
“I think the judge did the best he could to balance the need for justice along with the notion that rehabilitation in this case or preventing further conduct by this defendant is probably not necessary, and those are the mandates of the statute.”
Kelsey thought the sentence was fair given what McDonnell had done, especially since the former governor could have been jailed for a decade or more.
“Ten to 12 years seemed particularly harsh given at the end of the day we had a low interest loan, we had some golfing, we had some other things that were given to his wife and a few items to his children. I think the judge thought that Bob McDonnell who was on the short list for vice president made some serious ethical missteps but probably did not rise to the level of the types of abuse of office that we’ve seen in other cases.”
Former Governor Doug Wilder spoke to the judge on McDonnell’s behalf, and former Governor Tim Kaine wrote a letter. Kelsey thinks their remarks made a difference.
“Tim Kaine set a very nice, bi-partisan tone and reminded the judge that in looking to give mercy you should look at whether or not an individual defendant has given mercy on their own and cited the record of Bob McDonnell restoring the rights of voting for felons and other acts that he has undertaken, and I think those two things probably helped on balance with this judge.”
Likewise, letters from about 400 people may have influenced the court.
“I’ll be honest with you. It is amazing that he had that many high-profile people speak on his behalf. I think many people felt like while he might have made a few missteps, he wasn’t truly a person who deserved hard prison time.”
So what will history have to say about this case?
“Certainly the legacy here is going to be not about Bob McDonnell but probably about ethics reform In Virginia and what is the right way to go with that to both protect Virginians from unethical politicians but also to ensure that every Virginian has an opportunity to meet with and if possible influence their politician.”
But at the University of Virginia, the Director of the Center for Politics, Larry Sabato, isn’t so sure.
“The real silver lining to this very dark cloud might be a strong ethics bill, if the legislature actually passes it. I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve heard plenty of promises over decades.”
Unlike Richard Kelsey, Sabato was surprised by the sentence.
“If you can be lucky in getting a prison sentence, I think Governor McDonnell must be feeling very lucky. The two years of prison and two years of probation is far under what most people thought he would get.”
And he suspects the former governor’s lawyers might also have been taken aback.
“Those who criticized Judge Spencer for being what they said was biased against Governor McDonnell in the trial I suppose are eating crow or they ought to be, because he was unusually merciful in the court. He’s not known as a judge who is especially lenient, but he was in this case.”
McDonnell could be allowed by the Virginia Bar to practice law when he emerges from prison, but Larry Sabato doubts the former governor will ever return to politics.
“He’s a bright man. He’s not stupid enough to run for public office.”
But perhaps the most important response came from McDonnell himself. He told reporters he was grateful for the mercy shown by the court.
