Former lobbyist and congressional staffer Kevin Ring, whose long legal ordeal began in the wake of the Jack Abramoff case, has lost what appears to be his last shot before the Supreme Court.
On Monday, without elaboration,the court denied Ring's petition challenging his conviction on honest-services fraud.
For an impassioned critique of law enforcement tactics in going after Ring, see this piece.
Ring, after stints working for lawmakers, joined Abramoff’s lobbying team in 1999. As noted by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an earlier opinion upholding Ring's conviction, "until its fall from grace, Abramoff’s group maintained a successful and wide-ranging lobbying practice in Washington, D.C...Ring and the other Abramoff lobbyists relied heavily on
campaign contributions to maintain relationships with elected officials and promote their clients’ political interests. But it was Ring’s other lobbying tactics that got him in trouble.
These tactics chiefly included treating congressional and executive branch officials to dinners, drinks, travel, concerts, and sporting events."
Ring challenged the conviction on First Amendment grounds, among others. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison, followed by supervised release; he has been free, pending resolution of his appeals.