Former Pennsylvania congressman Chaka Fattah is serving a 10-year prison sentence on 22 related corruption charges. In part two of his investigation into Fattah’s downfall, NBC10 investigative reporter George Spencer shows us how a new Supreme Court ruling could aid in his appeal. Watch PART 1 HERE.
A former Pennsylvania congressman seeking to have his corruption conviction thrown out is turning to a recent Supreme Court ruling that other politicians have used to clear their names.
Lawyers for former U.S. Representative Chaka Fattah filed an appeal Friday arguing prosecutors used too broad a definition of bribery in his case and failed to meet a standard set by a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that narrowed what legally constituted as corruption.
His lawyers declined to comment further.
Fattah spent 20 years in Congress before a 2016 racketeering conviction resulted in a 10-year prison sentence.
The corruption conviction of Sheldon Silver, the former speaker of the New York State Assembly, was overturned using the same Supreme Court decision cited by Fattah's attorneys. It states an official action must involve formal governmental functions, such as hearings.
