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McDonnell’s attorneys will seek public service for former Va. governor McDonnell’s attorneys will seek public service for former Va. governor
(about 2 hours later)
Defense attorneys for former Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell asked a judge in a court filing on Tuesday to sentence the disgraced ex-politico to work 6,000 hours of community service instead of serving any prison time for his public corruption convictions. Defense attorneys for former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell asked a judge on Tuesday to spare their client from any prison time whatsoever — arguing in court filing that 6,000 hours of community service would be sufficient punishment for the once illustrious politician whose life is in shambles because of the successful public corruption case against him.
The court filing in federal district court in Richmond — the substance of which was first reported by the Richmond Times Dispatch — is a long shot request, to say the least. The U.S. probation office, whose calculation goes a long way to shaping sentences in the federal system, has recommended McDonnell spend somewhere between 10 years and a month and 12 years and seven months behind bars. Pronouncing the former governor’s political career “dead” and claiming his marriage had “fallen apart,” McDonnell’s defense attorneys urged U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer to consider a sentence below what even they believe federal sentencing guidelines would recommend.
But McDonnell’s defense team urged U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer to reject that calculation as “patently unfair,” arguing that no public official had been convicted for similar conduct and what McDonnell did was a a “total aberration in what was by all accounts a successful and honorable career.” They argued that McDonnell and his family had “already suffered tremendously” during a trial that put some of their most intimate and unflattering moments on public display, and they claimed former governor was now so deep in debt that he would be forced to sell his family home.
Even without going to jail, they argued, McDonnell had paid a significant price, and forcing him to spend any time behind bars would be a “severely disproportionate punishment” for the crimes of which he is convicted.
“No elected official would want to live through the last year of Mr. McDonnell’s life,” defense attorneys wrote. “Indeed, every indication is that the Government’s message was delivered loud and clear.”
The request filed Tuesday in federal district court in Richmond is, by all accounts, a long shot. The U.S. probation office, whose calculation goes a long way to shaping sentences in the federal system, recommended initially that McDonnell spend somewhere between 10 years and a month and 12 years and seven months behind bars. McDonnell’s defense attorneys wrote that they believed that calculation was “patently unfair” and a range of two years and nine months to three years and five months was a more appropriate guideline calculation.
But even that, they argued, was too severe a penalty for the former governor.
“[A] variant sentence of probation with full-time, rigorous community service of 6,000 hours best serves the goals of justice, fairness, and mercy in this case,” defense attorneys wrote.“[A] variant sentence of probation with full-time, rigorous community service of 6,000 hours best serves the goals of justice, fairness, and mercy in this case,” defense attorneys wrote.
As of about 2:30 p.m., prosecutors had yet to make their own sentencing recommendation to Spencer, though they are expected to do so later Tuesday and ask for a term within the probation office’s recommended range. As of about 4:30 p.m., prosecutors had yet to make their own sentencing recommendation to Spencer, though they are expected to do so later Tuesday and ask for a term within the probation office’s recommended range.
McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in September of public corruption for lending the prestige of the governor’s office to Richmond businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. in exchange for $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods. The former governor is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 5, and his wife is scheduled to be sentenced on February 20. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in September of public corruption for lending the prestige of the governor’s office to Richmond businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. in exchange for $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods. The former governor is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, and his wife is scheduled to be sentenced on February 20. The parties have not yet formally begun debating her term.
The probation office has not yet made a recommendation in Maureen McDonnell’s case, and prosecutors and defense attorneys are not required to take formal positions on the matter until next month. Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor who now does white collar criminal defense work, said Spencer is highly unlikely to sentence McDonnell to only a few years worth of community service, but is unsurprising that his attorneys would request such a penalty. Frenkel said that at a minimum, Spencer will want his sentence to steer other politicians away from public corruption, and a term of mere probation would probably not send the message he intends.
Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor who now does white collar criminal defense work, said Spencer is highly unlikely to sentence McDonnell to only a few years of community service, but is unsurprising that his attorneys would request such a penalty. Frenkel said that at a minimum, Spencer will want his sentence to steer other politicians away from public corruption, and a term of mere probation would probably not send the message he intends. “At the end of the football game, the quarterback will always throw the Hail Mary with the hope that it will be caught in the end zone,” Frenkel said. “Is it realistic?. . .Not really, because, again, one of the fundamental criteria for a sentencing judge is the deterrent effect of the sentence.”
“At the end of the football game, the quarterback will always throw the Hail Mary with the hope that it will be caught in the end zone,” Frenkel said. “Is it realistic? ... Not really, because, again, one of the fundamental criteria for a sentencing judge is the deterrent effect of the sentence.” McDonnell’s request for a sentence of only probation read like a glowing autobiography, tracing the governor’s life from the time he was born in Philadelphia, Pa., to now. It described the former governor’s service in the Army, his many accomplishments during his political career, and his particular interest in helping to “restore civil rights for convicted felons.” It notes he has a granddaughter on the way next month.
According to people familiar with the case, McDonnell’s defense attorneys believe the probation office should have recommended the former governor face a guideline sentencing range of two years and nine months to three years and five months. Their filing Tuesday, though, asked Spencer to go below that and impose no actual time behind bars. Attached to the request were 440 letters from supporters who seemed to encounter McDonnell in every phase of his life — including college and high school friends, fellow service members, former staffers and all five of his children. U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) wrote on the governor’s behalf, saying he did not question the jury’s verdict but wanted the court to know of McDonnell’s mercy to convicted felons during his time as governor.
In the filing, McDonnell’s defense attorneys proposed a number of specific organizations for which the former governor could work — free of charge — if the judge were to sentence him to community service. Among them are Operation Blessing International, a humanitarian organization based in Virginia Beach and the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. McDonnell’s attorneys, interestingly, seemed to continue to quibble with the prosecution’s case — even as they stressed that the former governor had owned up to his mistakes. On one hand, McDonnell’s attorneys wrote that they were “aware of no instance of the Government successfully prosecuting any public official on the basis of access-oriented acts like those upon which Mr. McDonnell’s conviction was based.”
Frenkel said that is important because the governor’s best chance for success is to show the court a concrete plan that could serve as a substitute for prison. But on the other hand, they wrote that McDonnell “accepts full responsibility for his poor decision to accept travel, golf, and loans from Mr. Williams” — a decision they termed a “total aberration in what was by all accounts a successful and honorable career.” They asked the judge to consider McDonnell’s conviction “in the context of the culture of Virginia politics, in which numerous state officials routinely took advantage of these laws and accepted luxury vacations, rounds of golf, sports tickets, dinners, and other things of value from donors and wealthy hangers-on.”
“So rather than simply say, ‘put him on probation and give him community service,’ they are trying to line up a very methodical, organized plan to serve as an alternative to incarceration,” Frenkel said. If the judge were to agree to sentence McDonnell to community service, the former governor’s defense attorneys proposed a few specific places where his might work. They wrote that Operation Blessing International, a Christian humanitarian organization, had agreed that McDonnell could serve as a “manager” of its food distribution facility in Bristol, Va., where he would manage shipments and inventory, run a forklift and help with loading and delivering supplies.
Notably, the organizations and their leaders bear personal and professional connections to McDonnell, and some might view a sentence that sent him to work for them as hardly a sentence at all. Operation Blessing, notably, was founded by Virginia Beach televangelist Pat Robertson, and he continues to sit on the organization’s board of directors. The controversial religious leader has been a longtime friend and political ally of McDonnell. McDonnell received a graduate degree from what is now called Regent University, the Christian-based college founded by Robertson.
Operation Blessing, for example, was founded by Virginia Beach televangelist Pat Robertson, and he continues to sit on the organization’s board of directors. The controversial religious leader has been a longtime friend and political ally of McDonnell. McDonnell received a graduate degree from what is now called Regent University, the Christian-based college founded by Robertson.
Robertson also donated more than $100,000 to McDonnell’s political campaigns and attended his 2010 inauguration as governor. On his program in August, Robertson accused the Department of Justice of pursuing a political prosecution of McDonnell, claiming Attorney General Eric Holder was “behind all this stuff.”Robertson also donated more than $100,000 to McDonnell’s political campaigns and attended his 2010 inauguration as governor. On his program in August, Robertson accused the Department of Justice of pursuing a political prosecution of McDonnell, claiming Attorney General Eric Holder was “behind all this stuff.”
“It’s one more reason why this administration is just destroying this nation and destroying its own credibility,” Robertson said.“It’s one more reason why this administration is just destroying this nation and destroying its own credibility,” Robertson said.
Frenkel said that while he does not expect a sentence of only community service, he also doubts Spencer will impose a sentence of more than a decade. Such a term could be painful for McDonnell in more ways than one. Defense attorneys also wrote that the Bishop of Richmond supported a plan to have McDonnell serve as the “Far Southwest Regional Coordinator” for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. There, they wrote, McDonnell would coordinate prison ministry workshops, do outreach to migrant workers and perhaps some grant writing and data collection.
Frenkel said the governor’s best chance to win a community service sentence is to show the court a concrete, organized plan that could serve as a substitute for prison. He said that while he still does not expect such a lenient penalty, he also doubts Spencer will impose a sentence of more than a decade. Such a term could be painful for McDonnell in more ways than one.
Federal bureau of prison procedures call for any male inmate with more than a decade left on his sentence to serve time in a low security prison — as opposed to a minimum security facility — unless a specific waiver is given. Minimum security prisons come with limited or no fencing, fewer guards and dormitory housing. Low security prisons come with double fenced perimeters and many more guards.Federal bureau of prison procedures call for any male inmate with more than a decade left on his sentence to serve time in a low security prison — as opposed to a minimum security facility — unless a specific waiver is given. Minimum security prisons come with limited or no fencing, fewer guards and dormitory housing. Low security prisons come with double fenced perimeters and many more guards.