Supreme Court to review Ex-Gov. McDonnell’s conviction

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear an appeal from former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was convicted on federal corruption charges.

A federal grand jury indicted him and his wife Maureen McDonnell on 14 counts for receiving $177,000 in gifts and loans from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., an executive at dietary supplement company Star Scientific.

{mosads}McDonnell and his wife were found guilty on multiple counts in September of 2014. He was sentenced to two years; and his wife to a year and a day.

The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously upheld McDonnell’s conviction in July 2015, despite his arguments that there were a “multitude of errors” during his district court trial.

McDonnell challenged the jury instructions specifically. He claimed that the district court misstated the law and the sufficiency of the evidence against him. He also argued that his trial should have been separate from his wife’s and that the jury selection process violated his Sixth Amendment rights to an impartial jury.

The conviction marked a stunning downfall for McDonnell who was on 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s vice presidential shortlist and seen as a potential 2016 contender.

This story was updated at 4:26 p.m.