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Rep. Dave Brat's Statement on overturning of McDonnell conviction

Statement

By: Dave Brat
By: Dave Brat
Date: June 27, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Judicial Branch Legal

U.S. Rep. Dave Brat issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's ruling overturning former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's conviction:

The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 Monday to overturn the conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, for "honest services fraud."

"I served under the former governor and got to know him personally. Today's decision serves the cause of justice. The law in question in this case, 'honest services fraud,' contained overly broad and ambiguous language that gave wide latitude to politically-motivated prosecutors," said Rep. Dave Brat. "One of the major causes of the A1P project I am advocating in Washington is to correct ambiguous legal language and replace it with precise terms, so that all Americans will clearly know what is prohibited and if they are violating the laws. Ambiguous criminal statutes, like the one in this case, subvert the rule of law and replace it with the rule of prosecutors, just as vague programmatic laws allow rule by bureaucrats."


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