Is Eric Holder's Justice Department driven by a political agenda, or are the department's recent prosecutorial decisions simply signs of overzealousness?
The Justice Department
has focused on two prominent Republicans, announcing a corruption
indictment of former Virginia Gov.
Robert McDonnell
and launching an active and very public criminal investigation
into the antics of New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie's
administration. In doing so, federal prosecutors have created at
least the appearance that they are targeting two men who have been
touted as plausible candidates for the GOP presidential nomination in
2016.
A reading of the McDonnell
indictment raises the obvious question of why the feds are charging
someone who, as governor, engaged in conduct that is run-of-the-mill
political activity in virtually all jurisdictions, but especially in
states, like Virginia, whose laws quite clearly allow it. Certainly Mr.
McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, don't come off well in the indictment.
She in particular is painted as greedy even by political standards. Both
are charged with receiving expensive gifts as well as loans from
businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., whose commercial dietary supplements
were promoted by the governor. Mr. McDonnell and his wife also invited
Mr. Williams to dinners and events at the governor's mansion and
arranged audiences for him with state health officials.
Mr.
McDonnell's legal team responded to the accusations in a blistering
motion in federal court in Richmond on Jan. 21, the day the indictment
was announced, asserting that the activities alleged against Mr.
McDonnell are no different from those of political figures nationwide.
To charge Mr. McDonnell on these counts would, according to the defense,
suggest an "untested, novel construction of the federal bribery
statutes" that would put every state—and, for that matter,
federal—officeholder in jeopardy of federal indictment.
The
defense motion points out that
Anthony Troy,
a former Democratic attorney general of Virginia, "conducted an
in-depth investigation into this issue" and concluded that since Mr.
Williams and his company "neither sought nor received any special
benefits from any public official," no crime was committed. Defense
counsel argue that "political courtesies" extended to campaign donors or
to generous friends are not crimes under any reasonable interpretation
of the federal bribery statutes.
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