Barak Cohen was quoted in The Wall Street Journal article, "What's Next for the McDonnells." In the article concerning the conviction for public corruption of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Cohen explained that the defense will have grounds to argue on appeal that Judge James R. Spencer gave jurors a definition of "official acts" that was too broad—specifically, that an official act could be "any decision or action" made by a public official in their official capacity. "The 'official acts' instruction was devastating to the McDonnells," said Cohen.