NYT:

A key ruling by the judge was on the definition of an “official action” taken by Mr. McDonnell during the period of the indictment. The judge defined bribery as trading something of value “for official actions by a public official — in other words, quid pro quo.”

Mr. McDonnell’s defense has argued that the things he did for Mr. Williams, such as introducing him to officials in his cabinet, were trivial courtesies and not official acts. The judge rejected that argument. He told jurors that official actions were not just a governor’s job description as codified by law. They also include “actions clearly established by settled practice as part of public office” — that is, seemingly everything related to a governor’s administration.