Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said Tuesday that prosecutors “did have a case” against former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell, but that Justice Department officials thought they could not push for a second trial because of a Supreme Court ruling that vacated his convictions.
“It does not stop us from going forward in public corruption cases,” she said.
Lynch’s comments at The Washington Post’s Criminal Justice Summit offered the most thorough reasoning for why the Justice Department decided not to re-try McDonnell, and what effect the case might have on other investigations involving allegedly corrupt public officials. The Supreme Court vacated McDonnell’s convictions earlier this year in a unanimous ruling that legal analysts have said significantly narrowed what is considered public corruption and might serve as a boon to others facing such allegations, including Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).
Although the justices left open the possibility that the former governor and his wife could be re-tried, Justice Department officials announced last week they would drop the case — apparently overruling their colleagues at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia. Prosecutors there had led the investigation the first time and had recommended pushing ahead despite the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Asked by Washington Post National Editor Scott Wilson about that decision, Lynch said: “Our prosecutors not only thought they had a case, they did have a case.” She cited the Supreme Court decision as the reason Justice Department higher-ups decided otherwise.
“We obviously are always mindful of those directions,” she said.
Lynch did offer thinly veiled criticism of McDonnell’s behavior, noting that the Supreme Court’s opinion was “on the narrow issue of whether or not the statutory requirements were met, but in no way condoned the behavior. That was clear from the opinion.”
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in the opinion that the case was “distasteful,” even if it wasn’t illegal. McDonnell had been accused of accepting more than $175,000 in loans, gifts and luxury goods from Richmond businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. in exchange for using his office to help Williams advance his company and a product it was trying to sell.
Lynch also said that voters can sometimes play a role in ousting officials even if their behavior is not illegal.
“Even if something does not meet the strict standards of the law, they can evaluate it in who they want in their public officials,” she said.
McDonnell has long insisted he is innocent, although he has acknowledged that, given a second chance, he might do things differently. In a statement after prosecutors said they were not pursuing the case further, he said: “I have become grateful for this experience of suffering, having used it to examine deeply all aspects of my life, and my role in the circumstances that led to this painful time for my beloved family and Commonwealth. I am thankful to God for teaching me new lessons about His grace, mercy, and providence.”
Lynch, the headliner of The Post’s Criminal Justice Summit, spoke for about 30 minutes on a broad range of topics, including tension between minority groups and police, prison reform and women in leadership roles. She notably declined to comment directly on what it would mean for Americans to elect their first female president and on whether she would consider staying on if Hillary Clinton were elected. She said she had not had conversations with Clinton’s transition team and added, “I’ve always found it’s best to focus on the job that you have, while you have it.”
“It sounds like you’d stay, if asked,” Wilson commented.
“I don’t think beyond that,” Lynch said.
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