The McDonnell case -- Another study in criminal law as Democrat partisan warfare

From Clarice Feldman at The American Thinker Blog:

Former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell, by most accounts a popular governor, had a good day yesterday when a unanimous Supreme Court overturned his conviction on “honest services” fraud and Hobbs Act extortion charges.

The case was brought by U.S. attorney Dana Boente, an Obama appointee. The trial court judge was federal district court judge James R. Spencer, in circumstances about which Rachel Alexander wrote at the time of the conviction in Townhall:

On January 7, former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, a conservative Republican once considered a leading contender for President, was sentenced by a judge to two years in federal prison. A jury found him guilty of 19 counts of honest services wire fraud, obtaining property under color of official right, and extortion under color of official right in September for accepting more than $177,000 in loans and gifts from Jonnie R. Williams, the head of a dietary supplements company, who was later invited to the governor’s mansion and his cabinet. McDonnell’s wife Maureen was convicted of similar charges and will be sentenced later this month. McDonnell repaid more than $120,000 to Williams in 2013, before he was indicted, but prosecutors didn’t care.

Federal District Court Judge James R. Spencer could have sentenced McDonnell to community service, but instead threw the book at him. Tellingly, it came out in December that McDonnell had opposed the appointment of Spencer’s wife 18 years ago to the Virginia State Supreme Court during a partisan battle in the state legislature. McDonnell nominated someone else instead, and Margaret Spencer never made it onto the State Supreme Court, instead becoming a Circuit Court judge in Richmond. Reagan appointed Judge James Spencer to the bench, but it is reported that he and his wife are both Democrats.

Lawfare.