NEWS about the activities of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS, and the International coalition that was formed to deal with the menace of the jihadist group, almost drowned all other notable items on the stable of the U.S. media. Two of those prominent events in the news that occurred as ISIS took centre stage had to do with two U.S. state governors, one still in office and the other out of state house. Let us begin with the latter.

Bob McDonnell used to be the governor of Virginia. He ran for office on the platform of transparency, upholding the dignity of the office he was then aspiring to win, being guided by moral principles and codes of good conduct based on his Christian religious beliefs and maintaining a corruption-free administration. The voters in Virginia were convinced that he was the person of integrity they needed and gave him their mandate.
Earlier this month, the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia woke up to a different reality about their trusted former governor. Bob and his wife Maureen were found guilty on multiple charges of corruption by a Federal Court in Richmond, Virginia. Bob was indicted on 11 out of 14 charges while his wife was found guilty on nine charges, including the obstruction of justice. The charges against the McDonnells were about abuse of office by granting favors to a businessman in exchange for $177,000 that came in the form of expensive gifts, lavish vacations and loans from. In other words, the governor had reneged on his pledge to run a corruption-free administration. He had mortgaged his sense of personal integrity.

Rick Perry is the current governor of Texas. He will not run for another term of office as his eyes are now set on running for the U.S. presidency on the ticket of the Republican Party. This would be his second attempt to campaign for the White House. His last race for the presidency ended in a fiasco as he dropped out of the race at the primary level. This time, he is expected to be a more credible contestant.

Like all Republican governors, Perry is on the camp that boasts of being guided by biblical injunctions in the performance of duty. What got him into trouble has a twist to it. It all began when Rosemary Lehmberg, a district attorney for Travis County in Texas, was caught driving under the influence of alcohol. The alcohol level in her system was almost thrice the legal limit. Lehmbert is a Democrat who, ironically, is in charge of an office of public integrity in the state. 

Once report of her sobriety issues came to light and she was convicted on that charge, Governor Perry joined the voices that wanted Lehmbert to resign from office. But the governor went further by threatening to cut off state funds to her office if she didn’t quit. It was his way of pressuring her to resign.

Incredibly, the lady refused to budge, and the tough-talking governor made good his threat. That landed him in trouble because in Texas and the country as a whole, threatening a public officer in order to get what you want is an illegal act, although the governor had the authority to cut off funds from whichever organization he wished. In a nutshell, the governor is in trouble for abuse of office by threatening and trying to influence a public officer to act the way he wants. In some countries, people of wealth try the same thing through bribery. As expected, Governor Perry maintains that he did the right thing, only that the charges were about the tactic he used to do what his office allows him to do.

The fate of Governors McDonnell and Perry show what is good about the American justice system: no one is above the law in principle and in practice. Isn’t it a good system that can prosecute a sitting governor who used his legitimate power illegally? Governor Perry may have exercised his power to cut off funds to any organization he deems not to be worthy of financial support from his administration. But, the law caught up with him in his method of operation. Even as a governor, he does not have the right to force a public officer to act in a given manner.  Those are the checks and balances enshrined in the U.S. legal system to forestall the abuse of power. 

How about some other countries, especially in the developing world? Can a Nigerian governor be taken to court because he tried to arm-twist a civil servant to resign from office just as Governor Perry is being prosecuted by U.S. Federal law officers? How many Governor McDonnells does Nigeria have, and how many have been taken to court over official corruption and a judge had to guts to say: Your Excellency, you are guilty! The U.S. story did not stop with Governor McDonnell. His wife who literally turned the state house into their private toy shop was also found guilty. How many wives of ex-governors have faced the law, even when there is evidence that they participated in their husband’s abuse of power?

Yet, it was an abuse of power that led to the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon. Can you imagine President Jonathan or President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya voluntarily resigning from office because the press carried a substantiated report that either of them abused the faith the voters entrusted in them? If former governor McDonnell appeals the judgment and loses, he faces no less than ten years in jail. Should Governor Perry be found guilty as charged, that will scuttle his presidential ambition and he will instead move from state house to state prison.

In the American system, top government officials, celebrities and the high and mighty in society who did things illegal will find themselves facing the sharp edge of the law. In fact, such people are more afraid of running afoul of the law than ordinary folk. It is easy to cascade from grace to ignominy over a piece of illegality.