NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned the corruption conviction of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came Thursday.
Silver was sentenced last year to 12 years in prison after he was convicted of collecting $4 million in kickbacks from a cancer researcher and real estate developers in return for using his powerful post to help them. He has not had to report to prison while he awaited the outcome of his appeal.
The appeals court said the judge’s instructions on the law were not consistent with a recent Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court recently reversed the conviction of Virginia Republican ex-Gov. Robert McDonnell. It raised the standards prosecutors must use when they accuse public officials of wrongdoing.
Goddamnit. Albany will never change.
A sad day for American politics, and democracy.
Sure it will change. As soon as Hell freezes over.
All these right-wing judges and Federalist Society types who have more and more narrowly redefined corruption – “quid-pro-quo” – have now released one of their objects of hate back onto the streets. A further deterioration of democracy in America.
Let’s face it, NY is the only place on earth a person like tRump could be hailed as a great businessman, make a name for himself as a great builder, even after having six bankruptcies, and do enumerable shady deals, without ever being called on the carpet for most of his criminal acts or sent to jail, for decades…How Sheldon Silver gets off from his form of graft should be no surprise to anyone. It seems that’s basically how business is conducted in that state. (The rot starts at the top.) Seems like in NY they have a different level of tolerance for shit like that. It also seems Lady Justice uses a different scale, whereas normal people everywhere else, would be outraged at that kind of malfeasance and demand accountability.
Eh, maybe he knew the judge real well and that’s all it took…or perhaps it was a mere technicality that helped get him off. Apparently, $4 million is peanuts these days by some folks measure.
To add to all that…you give a pass to one corrupt POS politician, pretty soon they’re all getting off on that same bullshit reasoning. SCOTUS had its head up its collective ass when they let McDonnell off the hook too.