Bob McDonnell, former governor of Virginia, is going to prison

Bob McDonnell, former governor of Virginia, is going to prison
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A federal judge in Virginia sentenced former Gov. Bob McDonnell to two years in a minimum security prison for corruption. The sentence caps a stunning fall from grace for a Republican politician who was once seen as presidential material; he was even tapped to deliver the GOP rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union address in 2010.

McDonnell was convicted of selling influence to businessman Johnnie Williams for tens of thousands of dollars in gifts, which included footing part of the bill for McDonnell's daughter's wedding. The months-long trial was a bizarre, sordid affair, with the McDonnell defense team trying to pin the blame on his wife Maureen, saying she had developed a romantic attachment to Williams that made her susceptible to his overtures.

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Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.