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Turns out that VA’s wingnut Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who’s running to replace O’Donnell, is also involved in this same scandal. Oops!
It surely does appear that outgoing Gov. Bob McDonnell, the man who wanted to be Mitt Romney’s vice president, has a different kind of future in store:
RICHMOND — A prominent political donor gave $70,000 to a corporation owned by Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and his sister last year, and the governor did not disclose the money as a gift or loan, according to people with knowledge of the payments.
The donor, wealthy businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., also gave a previously unknown $50,000 check to the governor’s wife, Maureen, in 2011, the people said.
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The money to the corporation and Maureen McDonnell brings to $145,000 the amount Williams gave to assist the McDonnell family in 2011 and 2012 — funds that are now at the center of federal and state investigations.Williams, the chief executive of dietary supplement manufacturer Star Scientific Inc., also provided a $10,000 check in December as a present to McDonnell’s eldest daughter, Jeanine, intended to help defray costs at her May 2013 wedding, the people said.
Virginia’s first family already is under intense scrutiny for accepting $15,000 from the same chief executive to pay for the catering at the June 2011 wedding of Cailin McDonnell at the Executive Mansion.
All the payments came as McDonnell and his wife took steps to promote the donor’s company and its products.
The payments to the corporation, confirmed by people familiar with the transactions, offer the first public example of money provided by Williams that would directly benefit the governor and not just his family.
The money went from a trust, controlled by Williams, to MoBo Real Estate Partners, a limited-liability corporation formed in 2005 by McDonnell and his sister, the sources said.
More here from the Maddow blog.
What’s the problem? Free speech – $$$$ equals free speech.
It’s just a way to say “I love you, Governor”. “I love you, Mrs. Governor”.
And I’m sure those diet supplements the donor’s corporation made were so wonderful that the Governor just couldn’t help but tell people all about them.
Because he’s the Governor, and he’s concerned about the health and well being of the citizens of Virginia.
It’s in his job description, I think.
Every Republican politician known to man is a moocher. Living off the taxpayer dole and all. McDonnell is a Republican crime boss. Not a very rare breed within the Republican Party as a whole it’s worth noting. Politics is a racket. Like the Mafia. McDonnell is just lots greedier than most. And much, much less bright. Every Republican known to man is a moocher. Every single one.