Judge dismisses all charges in Chesco businessman's bribery case
HARRISBURG -- In an extraordinary decision midway through the trial, a federal judge on Monday dismissed the corruption case against Chester County businessman Richard Ireland, saying prosecutors had failed to prove he tried to bribe former state Treasurer Rob McCord with campaign contributions.
While suggesting the case offered a stark example of Pennsylvania’s lax campaign finance laws, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III nonetheless ruled that federal prosecutors fell short of meeting the high bar required to criminalize campaign donations, which he called a form of “political expression … as old as this nation.”
To prove a crime, Jones said, the government would have had to show there was an explicit agreement between the two men to swap donations for state contracts.
“No reasonable jury could find that any explicit or implicit quid pro quos took place between Mr. Ireland and Mr. McCord,” the judge told a shocked courtroom. He added: “This is a tough call, but it is a call that has to be made.”
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/Ireland-McCord-trial-judge-dismisses.html
