Chicago City Wire

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tweeted that the U.S. Supreme Court has warned about what he calls "the uncontrolled power of criminal prosecutors" like Jack Smith, citing a 2016 decision to reverse his conviction of the former governor of Virginia.

"In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court warned about prosecutors like Jack Smith, the guy prosecuting President Trump. In the case of a Virginia Governor, the Justices UNANIMOUSLY reversed Smith’s case, writing that 'the uncontrolled power of criminal prosecutors is a threat to our separation of powers,'” Blagojevich said in his tweet.

Blagojevich's tweet referred to a unanimous 2016 Supreme Court decision in a 2014 case when the Federal Government indicted former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, on bribery charges. The McDonnells were accused of accepting $175,000 in loans, gifts and other benefits from the chief executive officer of Star Scientific, Jonnie Williams, while McDonnell was still in office.

“To convict the McDonnells of bribery, the Government was required to show that Governor McDonnell committed (or agreed to commit) an ‘official act’ in exchange for the loans and gifts,” the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision said. “The parties did not agree, however, on what counts as an ‘official act’.” The court said such actions as contacting agencies, arranging meetings and inviting Williams to the governor’s mansion were normal, everyday behaviors that political leaders do for many constituents, and therefore weren't bribery.

The Supreme Court's written decision doesn't contain the precise phrase, “the uncontrolled power of criminal prosecutors is a threat to our separation of powers,” but it does make similar statements, including the conclusion at the end of the decision, "But our concern is... with the broader legal implications of the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute. A more limited interpretation of the term 'official act' leaves ample room for prosecuting corruption, while comporting with the text of the statute and the precedent of this Court."

"The headline should have been: 'Supreme Court rejects novel prosecution theories that convert traditional constituent services into federal crimes,'" lawyers Jeffrey Green and Ivan Dominguez said In a symposium the day after the Supreme Court decision. "Indeed, Chief Justice John Roberts’s opinion makes crystal clear the opinion’s focus on the issue of prosecutorial overreach."

Blagojevich is no stranger to the reach of prosecutors. He was impeached, removed from office and convicted for trying to sell a U.S. Senate seat, and went to prison in 2009. Trump granted him clemency in 2020 after his wife, Patti, made numerous pleas for his release. Trump told reporters that Blagojevich had received "a tremendously powerful, ridiculous sentence."