Supreme Court sides with mayor accused of accepting a bribe in latest ruling to limit public anti-corruption laws
CNN
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with the former mayor of an Indiana city accused of accepting a bribe in exchange for a towing contract, the latest decision in which the high court has weakened federal anti-corruption laws.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with the former mayor of an Indiana city accused of accepting a bribe in exchange for a towing contract, the latest decision in which the high court has weakened federal anti-corruption laws. James Snyder, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana, was convicted of accepting $13,000 from a trucking company weeks after it was awarded a contract. Snyder argued the payment was an after-the-fact “gratuity” that wasn’t covered by the federal bribery statute. The ruling was 6-3 on conservative-liberal ideological lines. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in the majority opinion, said that if the appeal were accepted, it would “radically upend gratuities rules and turn (the law) into a vague and unfair trap for 19 million state and local officials.” During oral arguments in April, the justices wrestled with how the law might apply to more common exchanges – say, a wealthy patient who donates a large sum to a hospital where she received exceptional care. Several of the justices were concerned about federal prosecutors using the anti-bribery law to criminalize more benign payments. The law at issue makes it a federal crime for local officials to “corruptly” take anything valued at over $5,000. Part of the challenge of the case was setting a standard for how to define “corruptly.”
Residents in parts of Arizona’s most populous county asked to evacuate as a wildfire threatens homes
Residents in parts of Maricopa County, Arizona – the state’s most populous and home to Phoenix – have been asked to evacuate as the Boulder View Fire threatened structures.
Registered voters who watched CNN’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump largely think Trump outperformed Biden, according to a CNN poll of debate watchers conducted by SSRS, with most saying they have no real confidence in Biden’s ability to lead the country. At the same time, a majority who tuned in say it had little or no effect on their choice for president.
The Biden administration is holding discussions with Israel and Ukraine about the possibility of transferring aging Patriot air defense systems currently in Israel to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself in the war with Russia, according to a senior administration official and a source familiar with the discussions, as the US urgently prioritizes air defenses for Kyiv.