The Journal’s Scott Sexton can’t help but wonder if Judge Terrence Boyle’s 63-month sentence for Jim Black was politically motivated:

If Boyle was taking even a tiny measure of satisfaction in finally being able to make a Democrat suffer, he didn’t let on.

Boyle did ignore a recommendation for sentencing at a lower level that would have sent Black away for 33 to 41 months. Instead, Boyle opted for the 63-to-78-month range recommended by the federal probation office. In pronouncing sentence, Boyle played it straight.

“It goes without saying that the court takes no satisfaction in having to impose any sentence on any person, but it’s an obligation of the institution,” he said.

Try as they might to divorce Black’s sentencing from politics, all interested parties have to concede that politics (and money) fed the corruption monster and allowed it to grow.