Former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell got his lucky break on Monday the 27th when the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out his bribery conviction, which he was previously found guilty of back in 2014. This also means that he will not have to serve the two year prison term that he was sentenced to at that time. These gifts make up a long list, some of which includes receiving checks to help McDonnell pay credit card and real estate debts, a Rolex watch, designer clothes for his wife Maureen, and a Ferrari to name a few. All aforementioned gifts were received by McDonnell from a Virginia businessman who wanted help getting two state universities to conduct research on a diet supplement. However, McDonnell’s lawyers maintained that the businessman never got anything in return from the governor, including the research he was seeking, as well as the fact that McDonnell never actually used the power of his office to help the businessman. Justice Department lawyers assert that this ruling could very possibly scale back the reach of federal bribery laws by making it harder for federal prosecutors to bring corruption cases against state and local officials. Not only that, but it may make the government’s efforts to try federal office holders for corruption more difficult.

References: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-virginia-governor-robert-mcdonnell-spared-prison-sentence-n599506