A federal jury in Virginia on Thursday found former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell and his wife Maureen guilty of public corruption charges. McDonnell’s lawyers say they plan to appeal, according to news reports, but the verdict is for now a high-profile win for the U.S. Department of Justice.
It’s also a lesson in the dangers of rejecting a plea deal and going to trial, said Peter Zeidenberg, a partner at Arent Fox and former federal prosecutor in the Justice Department’s public integrity section. “You’re just taking an enormous risk,” he said. According to The Washington Post, McDonnell declined a deal that would have avoided corruption charges.
