the governor of the state. >> whitaker: the mcdonnells actively promoted anatabloc, and invited jonnie williams to events at the governor's mansion, with health care leaders and researchers who could help him. >> mcdonnell: there was never a quid pro quo or any conspiracy or any agreement to help mr. williams. and ultimately the supreme court of the united states said that government advanced essentially a dangerous legal... legal theory that had serious constitutional problems. >> whitaker: what do you mean, dangerous? why... why dangerous? >> mcdonnell: because it criminalizes routine political conduct, things that happen in this country every day. >> whitaker: the justices did unanimously reverse his conviction. they faulted federal prosecutors for overreaching with a definition of corruption that was too broad, and ruled that merely "setting up a meeting" or "hosting an event" for jonnie williams did not constitute a crime. but they condemned mcdonnell's conduct on ethical grounds. in his opinion, chief justice john roberts wrote, the "tawdry tales of ferraris, rolexes and ball gowns" did n

it came from jonnie williams' account, starwood trust. that triggered the investigation of bob mcdonnell and the federal case under former deputy attorney general jim cole. >> cole: these were not gifts. these were payoffs. >> whitaker: people are giving money all the time. people make contributions. >> cole: the key difference here is that the contributions didn't go to a campaign. the money that came in went into his pocket. that's not normal politics. that doesn't happen every day. >> hank asbill: you want to take the money out of politics, then take it out of politics. but this is not unique to bob. >> whitaker: mcdonnell's attorney, hank asbill, admitted the evidence in the case looked bad, but he said it's just the way american politics works. >> asbill: you know, would anyone look at the gifts and loans in this case and say it's a good idea? no. i wasn't happy about having to defend it, but there was no crime. >> whitaker: but shouldn't we expect our politicians to have a higher standard? >> asbill: maybe so. and there ought to be