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 A judge sentenced McDonnell, a 61-year-old former Republican Party
rising star, to two years behind bars, but the Supreme Court last
year said he would not have to report to prison while his appeals
were ongoing.
A ruling is due by the end of June.
During the one-hour oral argument, McDonnell's lawyers are set to
argue that the former governor's conduct did not constitute
"official action" in exchange for a thing of value, as required for
conviction under federal bribery law.
The actions in question "were limited to routine political
courtesies: arranging meetings, asking questions and attending
events," the lawyers wrote in court papers.
 His lawyers said a ruling against McDonnell, who served as governor
from 2010 to 2014, would "upend the political process" by
transforming ordinary interactions between a politician and
political donors into criminal acts.
McDonnell, a former rising star in the Republican Party, and his
wife, Maureen, were convicted of taking the gifts and loans from
Virginia businessman Jonnie Williams.
Prosecutors during the trial described the luxurious lifestyle the
McDonnells lived thanks to Williams including vacations, designer
clothing and shoes, a $6,500 Rolex watch, $15,000 for their
daughter’s wedding, golf outings and more.
After a trial that laid bare rifts in his marriage, McDonnell was
convicted of 11 corruption counts including conspiracy, bribery and
extortion for taking the gifts and loans in exchange for promoting a
dietary supplement called Anatabloc made by Williams' company Star
Scientific.
McDonnell's wife was found guilty of nine criminal counts and
received a one-year sentence.
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U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, the federal government's
lawyer before the high court, said in court papers the convictions
are valid because McDonnell took the money "in exchange for agreeing
to use the power of his office to help his benefactor."
Federal prosecutors have used the vaguely written "honest services"
fraud statute, one of the laws McDonnell was convicted of violating,
against several high-profile government and business officials
accused of wrongdoing. They included former Democratic Alabama
Governor Donald Siegelman, convicted in 2006.
Supreme Court decisions in 2010 involving former Enron Corp
executive Jeffrey Skilling and media baron Conrad Black narrowed the
scope of the law to just bribes and kickbacks.
The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld
McDonnell's conviction in July 2015, and he subsequently appealed to
the Supreme Court.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
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