Mr. D’Souza’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, had argued previously that Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office had engaged in “selective” prosecution by targeting a Republican, a criticism also echoed by retiring Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.
Prosecutors pushed back against the claim. Law Blog noted earlier that Mr. Bharara’s office has won corruption convictions against nearly a dozen Democratic lawmakers in New York since President Barack Obama nominated him to the post in 2009.
Judge Berman ruled last week that prosecutors had not engaged in selective prosecution.
Mr. Brafman said in a statement Tuesday there was no “viable defense” for Mr. D’Souza because of the technical nature of the case.