McDonnell Gets Two Years In Prison

Former GOP Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison today after being convicted on eleven counts of corruption late last year.

United States District Court Judge James R. Spencer announced his ruling just shy of 3 pm local time early on Tuesday, four months and two days after a jury there found Mr McDonnell and his wife guilty of public corruption charges. The Twitter account for the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia confirmed the ruling shortly after. Going into court on Tuesday, McDonnell faced a maximum sentence of 12 years. Judge Spencer unexpectedly reduced the outcome range during the hearing, however, and said the governor would only face upwards of eight years behind bars since he did not obstruct justice or accept more than a certain amount of bribes.

More from USA Today:

Included among the nearly 1,000 pages of documents filed by McDonnell's legal team are 443 letters from family, friends and former colleagues urging the judge to give the former governor a lenient sentence. Each of McDonnell's five children — he has three daughters and twin sons — wrote letters on their father's behalf. Some children told the judge that their mother made bad decisions and solicited money and gifts behind their father's back and without his knowledge. McDonnell once was considered a possible running mate for 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. McDonnell delivered the 2010 Republican response to the State of the Union Address and became chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2011.

McDonnell's estranged wife, who shocked onlookers when she appeared in the courtroom for today's hearing, will be sentenced next month.