Ex-Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell looks to avoid prison at sentencing on corruption convictions

FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 29, 2014 file photo, former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, center, arrives at Federal Court with his daughter Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky, left and son Bobby, McDonnell, right, in Richmond, Va. The judge in the case will sentence McDonnell Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, and has received over 400 letters of support for the former governor. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Friday Aug. 29, 2014 file photo, former Virginia first lady, Maureen McDonnell, right, arrives at federal Court with her daughter Cailin Young, left, in Richmond, Va. The judge in the case received over 400 letters of support for the former governor including one from Young, and will sentence McDonnell Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. Maureen McDonnell will be sentenced in February. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Thursday Sept. 4, 2014 file photo, former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, center, is mobbed by media, friends and family as he gets into a car with his son, Bobby, right, after being convicted on multiple counts of corruption at Federal Court in Richmond, Va. The judge in the case will sentence McDonnell Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, and has received over 400 letters of support for the former governor. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) (The Associated Press)

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is due in federal court for sentencing on 11 public corruption counts.

McDonnell, a Republican who was once on the short list to be Mitt Romney's running mate, will be sentenced Tuesday. He and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in September of promoting a dietary supplement in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. Maureen McDonnell will be sentenced in February.

Lawyers for the former governor are asking a judge to order three years of community service for McDonnell. Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of at least 10 years.

Bob McDonnell testified in his own defense during a six-week jury trial that exposed details of the former first couple's strained marriage and shaky finances.