By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday temporarily allowed former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell to remain out of prison as he fights his corruption conviction.
In a brief order, Roberts said an appeals court ruling rejecting McDonnell's bid to stay out of prison pending a further appeal could not go into effect until the U.S. Supreme Court takes further action. McDonnell's lawyers had said the former governor could be required to report to prison as soon as Thursday.
McDonnell, once a rising star in the Republican Party, and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in September of taking $177,000 in gifts and loans from businessman Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting one of his company's dietary supplements. U.S. District Judge James Spencer sentenced McDonnell to two years in prison. McDonnell has so far remained free.
Lawyers for McDonnell, the first Virginia governor to be convicted on criminal charges, had argued that he did not represent a flight risk or threat to public safety and thus did not need to be imprisoned pending the outcome of his appeal.
Roberts' order asked the U.S. Justice Department to file a response to McDonnell's application by Wednesday afternoon.