 He was convicted of bribery, but in reversing that, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said a key difference was that the money was paid out after, not before, the contracts were awarded. He said Congress could have written a stricter law, but the one in question made exceptions for legitimate work outside of government, which many local and state officials engage in. In a dissent, Justice Katonji Brown Jackson said the ruling ignored Congress's intent to root out public corruption.