Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, convicted Thursday along with his wife of public corruption, fell into a common trap: believing he received goods and cash because the donor was a friend, former federal prosecutor Bruce Reinhart said Friday on "America's Forum" on
Newsmax TV.
"You have someone in public office who gets a little too comfortable with their relationship with someone not in public office," Reinhart said. "He very well may have believed that all these nice things that were being done for him and his family were related to a friendship, but to an outside observer it looks suspicious.
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"It's very hard sometimes
when you're a juror to sit there and look and say no one would ever give me $165,000 for nothing. This person is a governor, has a lot of power so clearly they must be giving it to him because he's the governor and that equates to a quid pro quo."
Reinhart weighed in on other current cases of prominent Republicans who are also navigating legal troubles, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
By making light of the situation, Perry has
turned his indictment last month on charges of abusing his official capacity and coercing a public official into a political advantage, according to Reinhart.
"The governor has got the ability to be in the media and to influence the jury pool," according to Reinhart. "If he's making light of it, part of the strategy is you're trying to make the members of the jury in Travis County believe this is really nothing and a political game. If he's not taking it seriously, his hope is they're going to look at it the same way when they eventually sit in that jury box."
Perry vetoed $7.5 million in funding for a Travis County District Attorney’s Office Integrity Unit after the District Attorney, Democrat Rosemary Lehmberg, pleaded guilty to drunken driving.
According to Reinhart, the difference between Perry, who was open about his decision to veto the funding, and Christie, who aides say was covertly involved in the Bridge-gate scandal – seen as an act of political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J. — is that Perry’s actions were "open and obvious to everyone."
Perry "was very clear," he said. "This woman was doing things that he believed were incorrect. No attempt to hide it and no attempt to cover it up. What Christie did what was perceived to be a political dirty trick, but he did it behind the scenes. "
Christie has denied advance knowledge of the bridge closing and has not been charged with any crime.
Walker, investigated but never charged on suspicion of colluding with conservative groups to illegally coordinate fundraising, has been forced to defend himself against
allegations he denies and for which he has never been criminally charged.
There’s always a risk that a partisan prosecutor will make politically motivated decisions, Reinhart said.
"Often times in situations where prosecutors have to be elected, there's tremendous pressure on them to play to the electorate, just like anyone else who has to stand for election, rather than simply making decision on the merits of what's right and wrong," Reinhart said. "The thing to remember is there's lots of things that can be perceived as wrong that aren't illegal."
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