The Chicago-based 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Blagojevich’s effort to trade Barack Obama ally Valerie Jarrett’s appointment to the Senate in exchange for a seat in the Obama cabinet amounted to “a common exercise in logrolling” that did not violate the law.

The judges said trading one official act for another is unlike trading official acts for a private benefit and cannot be considered bribery or extortion. However, the appeals court panel said prosecutors could only rely on evidence that Blagojevich sought money in exchange for naming Jarrett to the post. Jarrett was never named to the post.