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Possible Effects In Mass. And Elsewhere After SCOTUS Overturns Va. Gov. Corruption Case

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In a unanimous ruling this week, the U.S. Supreme Court made it harder to prosecute public officials for corruption by overturning the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

McDonnell had faced conviction for doing political favors for a businessman who had given the governor hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and loans.

The Supreme Court ruled that routine political courtesies are not corruption, even when someone gives a public official a gift.

Cambridge lawyer Harvey Silverglate joined Morning Edition to talk about how the ruling could disrupt several high profile corruption cases, including at least one from Massachusetts.

This segment aired on June 29, 2016.

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Bob Oakes Senior Correspondent
Bob Oakes was a senior correspondent in the WBUR newsroom, a role he took on in 2021 after nearly three decades hosting WBUR's Morning Edition.

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