Shouldn’t criminal charges be brought against Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife for their shenanigans with accepting cash from political donors? The Washington Post reports prominent political donor, Jonnie Williams, gave $70,000 to a corporation owned by McDonnell and his sister last year. Gov. McDonnell failed to disclose the money as a gift or loan. Um, the IRS should be profiling him. Williams also gave a previously unknown $50,000 check to Maureen McDonnell in 2011.
“The money brings to $145,000 the amount he gave to assist the McDonnell family in 2011 and 2012 — funds that are now at the center of federal and state investigations… All the payments came as McDonnell and his wife took steps to promote the donor’s company and its products.”
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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.
It’s ironic that this comes as disgraced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife are awaiting sentencing for their shenanigans with campaign funds too. Bob McDonnell, who was once a rising star in the Republican Party, should quit and make a deal with investigators to put this behind him. It’s a disgrace nonetheless. I remember how critical he was of President Obama when Mitt Romney first introduced Paul Ryan as his running mate in Virginia. How far the mighty often fall.
Separately, Bob McDonnell’s 21-year-old son, Sean McDonnell, was arrested Saturday and charged with public swearing and intoxication. I don’t go after the children of politicians, but this couldn’t come at a worse time for the governor.
This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.