Keith and stuff
01-22-2014, 06:28 AM
The former Virginia Governor McDonnell (R) and wife were charged in gifts case. Remember, this is the guy that pushed hard to get the horrible Transportation tax/spending tax increase passed in VA.
By Rosalind S. Helderman, Carol D. Leonnig and Sari Horwitz, Published: January 21
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/former-va-gov-mcdonnell-and-wife-charged-in-gifts-case/2014/01/21/1ed704d2-82cb-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html
Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were charged Tuesday with illegally accepting gifts, luxury vacations and large loans from a wealthy Richmond area businessman who sought special treatment from state government.
Authorities allege that for nearly two years, the McDonnells repeatedly asked executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. for loans and gifts of money, clothes, golf fees and equipment, trips, and private plane rides. The gifts and loans totaled at least $165,000.
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife received more than $150,000 in cash and gifts to promote the company of a campaign donor. The first family has since repaid the money and returned the gifts, but the governor and Mrs. McDonnell are now the subject of fast-moving federal and state investigations. The Post's Ed O'Keefe, filling in for Nia-Malika Henderson, sits down with the Post reporter who broke this story, Rosalind Helderman.
In a state that prides itself on clean government, the list of alleged felonies was hard to absorb.
The indictment charging the McDonnells with illegally accepting gifts.
From shoes to golf shirts, these items are subject to forfeiture in the McDonnell case.
In a statement, McDonnell says the case rests on a “misguided legal theory.”
Images of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s time in office as his four-year term comes to a close in Richmond.
In exchange, authorities allege, the McDonnells worked in concert to lend the prestige of the governor’s office to Williams’s struggling company, Star Scientific, a former small cigarette manufacturer that now sells dietary supplements.
McDonnell, 59, is the first governor ever to face criminal charges in Virginia, a state that has prided itself on a history of clean and ethical politics, and the charges will probably accelerate a push for the legislature to tighten state ethics laws.
The criminal prosecution marks a stunning crash for a politician who was considered for the Republican vice presidential nomination in 2012 and who, just a year ago, was considered a credible prospective candidate for president.
The 43-page, 14-count indictment adds new details to a story line of largess that was first recounted by The Washington Post in March. It depicts an elected official in financial trouble who sought help from a businessman with something to gain.
McDonnell and his legal team immediately denounced the charges and said prosecutors overstepped their authority. In an unprecedented televised public appearance Tuesday night, McDonnell said, “ I come before you this evening as someone who has been falsely and wrongfully accused and whose public service has been wrongfully attacked.”
By Rosalind S. Helderman, Carol D. Leonnig and Sari Horwitz, Published: January 21
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/former-va-gov-mcdonnell-and-wife-charged-in-gifts-case/2014/01/21/1ed704d2-82cb-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html
Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were charged Tuesday with illegally accepting gifts, luxury vacations and large loans from a wealthy Richmond area businessman who sought special treatment from state government.
Authorities allege that for nearly two years, the McDonnells repeatedly asked executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. for loans and gifts of money, clothes, golf fees and equipment, trips, and private plane rides. The gifts and loans totaled at least $165,000.
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife received more than $150,000 in cash and gifts to promote the company of a campaign donor. The first family has since repaid the money and returned the gifts, but the governor and Mrs. McDonnell are now the subject of fast-moving federal and state investigations. The Post's Ed O'Keefe, filling in for Nia-Malika Henderson, sits down with the Post reporter who broke this story, Rosalind Helderman.
In a state that prides itself on clean government, the list of alleged felonies was hard to absorb.
The indictment charging the McDonnells with illegally accepting gifts.
From shoes to golf shirts, these items are subject to forfeiture in the McDonnell case.
In a statement, McDonnell says the case rests on a “misguided legal theory.”
Images of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s time in office as his four-year term comes to a close in Richmond.
In exchange, authorities allege, the McDonnells worked in concert to lend the prestige of the governor’s office to Williams’s struggling company, Star Scientific, a former small cigarette manufacturer that now sells dietary supplements.
McDonnell, 59, is the first governor ever to face criminal charges in Virginia, a state that has prided itself on a history of clean and ethical politics, and the charges will probably accelerate a push for the legislature to tighten state ethics laws.
The criminal prosecution marks a stunning crash for a politician who was considered for the Republican vice presidential nomination in 2012 and who, just a year ago, was considered a credible prospective candidate for president.
The 43-page, 14-count indictment adds new details to a story line of largess that was first recounted by The Washington Post in March. It depicts an elected official in financial trouble who sought help from a businessman with something to gain.
McDonnell and his legal team immediately denounced the charges and said prosecutors overstepped their authority. In an unprecedented televised public appearance Tuesday night, McDonnell said, “ I come before you this evening as someone who has been falsely and wrongfully accused and whose public service has been wrongfully attacked.”