Following New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez’s bribery conviction on July 16, Fordham Law Professor Cheryl Bader spoke to The New York Times about how a landmark 2016 Supreme Court decision has narrowed the definition of political corruption, including what is considered “official acts.”
Cheryl Bader, a law professor at Fordham University, said the McDonnell ruling noted that its more limited interpretation of “official act” left “ample room” for prosecutors to pursue corruption.
“There’s a lot of areas within the law where there’s shades of gray,” Professor Bader said. “But at some point, we want to think about how to draw that line in a way that is sufficiently protective against criminality but also appreciates the necessity of lawmakers being able to do what they need to do.”
“In the Menendez case, the prosecutors were able to find that sweet spot,” she added.
Read “Can Robert Menendez’s Bribery Conviction Survive an Appeal?” in The New York Times.