basis for an official act.
A public official need not actually perform
the act; it is enough that they agreed to do
so. So an official can request money and expressly agree to provide access and/or advocacy, so long as the official does not “exert
pressure” and government does not formally
act.
Really? Is that really what the Supreme
Court meant to tell public officials and the
American people? The answer is an unequivocal, “Yes!” However, despite the justices’
unanimity, their respective backgrounds
influenced their very different understandings of what the McDonnell decision really
meant.
Roberts is a product of unmitigated success. He graduated Harvard summa cum
laude in three years and attended Harvard
Law. Roberts gained prominence as a successful solicitor general and litigator who
used legal technicalities to win cases. He has
a reverence for the letter of the law, so he focused on the wording of the statute and jury
instruction.