…Adding… Wow…
…Adding… Statement…
* Tribune…
Three years after the historic “ComEd Four” bribery trial, the convictions of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and lobbyist Michael McClain appeared to be on thin ice Tuesday as a federal appeals court indicated recent Supreme Court rulings could force a retrial.
During consolidated arguments for McClain and Pramaggiore before the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the three-judge panel had tough questions for a government lawyer about how the conspiracy conviction could stand after the high court said “gratuities” given to elected officials with no direct tie to official actions are not illegal.
After that ruling, a district court judge threw out underlying bribery convictions in the “ComEd Four” case but left intact the main conspiracy count as well as guilty verdicts on other counts of falsifying ComEd’s books and records.
Paul Clement, the lead attorney for Pramaggiore, argued that there was no possible way for the court to know that the jury didn’t convict the defendants based on the government’s bribery theories — and therefore a new trial was inevitable.
At least two of the three judges on the panel appeared to agree.
* Sun-Times…
The feds’ landmark conviction against a former ComEd CEO and a longtime lobbyist seemed on shaky ground Tuesday, with the potential release of the pair seemingly on the table following arguments before an appeals court panel. […]
The judges wanted to know how they could be sure the jury didn’t convict based on an invalid bribery theory, given the emphasis on bribery during the trial.
“Here’s the problem,” Judge Thomas Kirsch asked. “When you charge the case and try the case as a bribery case, what’s to say the jury just didn’t consider the illegal bribery object and stop right there?”
Judge Joshua Kolar eventually asked about the potential release of Pramaggiore and McClain, who are serving two-year prison sentences, if a new trial is ordered. Pramaggiore attorney Paul Clement followed up by offering to file a motion for release Tuesday afternoon. The appeals court already rejected one such motion from Pramaggiore.
Kirsch told Clement, “I don’t think a new motion is necessary.”
Lots more in those links. Some play-by-play is here.
Co-defendants John Hooker and Jay Doherty didn’t appeal their convictions and both have been released to halfway houses, the Tribune also noted.
