The former GOP governor was sentenced to two years in jail, but the sentence was put on hold as appeals played out. | AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File Justice Department dropping corruption case against Bob McDonnell

The Justice Department is dropping its corruption prosecution against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell after the Supreme Court overturned McDonnell's convictions and threw up significant hurdles to retrying him.

A jury convicted McDonnell in 2014 on 11 felony counts stemming from his and his family's receipt of vacations, gifts and loans valued at $177,000 from a businessman promoting a tobacco-based dietary supplement. The former GOP governor was sentenced to two years in jail, but the sentence was put on hold as appeals played out.


In June, the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that prosecutors had impermissibly mixed evidence of potentially illegal acts aimed at influencing official government actions with proof of routine courtesies such as meetings and invitations often extended to donors and political supporters.

Evidence presented at the 2014 trial — including McDonnell's receipt of a $6,000 Rolex watch and his use of donor Johnnie Williams' Ferrari — fueled a wave of public outrage over politicians profiting from their offices.

However, the justices said prosecutors could proceed with the case only if they could prove that McDonnell intended to or attempted to provide official help in exchange for the gifts and loans. The high court said simply arranging meetings or hosting social events at the governor's mansion were not enough to support a conviction under federal anti-corruption laws.

"After carefully considering the Supreme Court’s recent decision and the principles of federal prosecution, we have made the decision not to pursue the case further," said a statement issued Thursday by the Justice Department. "The department thanks the trial team and its investigative partners for their outstanding work on this case."

The former governor's legal team hailed the move.

"We have said from the very first day that Bob McDonnell is an innocent man. After a long ordeal traversing the entire legal system, that truth has finally prevailed. We are thrilled Governor McDonnell can finally move on from the nightmare of the last three years and begin rebuilding his life," McDonnell lawyers Hank Asbill, John Brownlee and Noel Francisco said in a statement.

"We are also grateful for the decision of the Department of Justice to decline to re-prosecute Governor McDonnell following the Supreme Court’s June ruling. We believe that the Department brought this case in good faith based on its view of the law as it existed at the time. We applaud the Department’s recognition that the interests of justice are now best served by bringing this case to a close," the attorneys added.

The convictions of McDonnell's wife, Maureen — and the year-and-a-day prison sentence she faced — are also expected to be tossed out.

"We thank the Department of Justice for the care with which they reviewed the case. We are thrilled and thankful that Maureen can now move on with her life," attorney Bill Burck said.

In dumping the case, officials at Justice Department headquarters apparently overruled line prosecutors who wanted to proceed with a retrial. The Washington Post reported last week that the trial team wanted to proceed with the case.

Lawyers said the reference in the Justice Department statement to the government's prosecution "principles" indicated that senior officials were unable to conclude that it was probable the McDonnells would be convicted at a new trial.

"Prosecutors have to conclude it is more likely than not that a jury will convict a defendant before they go forward with the prosecution. That’s just the touchstone," said Hampton Dellinger, a former North Carolina deputy attorney general. "It's not: Is there any chance at a conviction?"

In a new trial, prosecutors would have faced pressure to prove that Bob McDonnell sought to procure state-funded studies of Antabloc, the compound being promoted by the source of the gifts and other largesse the couple received from Williams, CEO of Star Scientific. But if the government had concrete proof of that, it would surely have presented it at the first trial.

"If there was more compelling evidence that he sought to dictate a particular outcome, prosecutors would have put on in the first case," Dellinger said. "If there was some smoking gun, we would have seen the smoke the first time."

Official word that the case was being dropped came in a filing Thursday afternoon with the Richmond-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, saying that the government wanted the case remanded to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it could not be refiled.