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![Bob McDonnell]()
Bob McDonnell
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, have both been indicted in federal court for what investigators believe is a years-long scheme by the two to use the office of the governor to enrich themselves in exchange for providing benefits to a private company.
The indictments were filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging the pair used the governor’s office from April 2011 through March 2013 to enrich themselves and their family members through payments, loans, gifts and other things of value in exchange for performing official actions on an as-needed basis to legitimize, promote and obtain research studies for products manufactured by Star Scientific. The two are also alleged to have taken steps throughout that time to conceal the alleged relationship.
A complaint filed in U.S. District Court outlines a series of alleged episodes between the McDonnells and the chief executive of Star Scientific, Jonnie Williams. Star Scientific is a company that specializes in manufacturing dietary supplements and other medications.
For example, the complaint says Maureen McDonnell said she would ensure Williams was seated next to McDonnell at an April 2011 event. Williams, in exchange, spent about $11,000 at an Oscar de la Renta store, $5,685 at Louis Vuitton and $2,604 at Bergdorf Goodman on a shopping trip for Maureen McDonnell, according to investigators.
Maureen McDonnell is also alleged to have asked Williams for a $50,000 loan, telling him she could help Star Scientific but she needed his financial assistance. The complaint says she told Williams the McDonnells were having “severe financial difficulties.” She also told Williams she needed $15,000 to pay catering costs for her daughter’s wedding, according to the complaint.
Bob McDonnell is alleged to have talked to Williams about the $50,000 loan, telling him income from rental properties the couple owned in Virginia Beach were not covering bills for those properties. The loan was then granted without paperwork, according to the complaint.
In May 2011, the catering company cashed the $15,000 check. In June, the company refunded $5,266.50 via check, which Maureen McDonnell is alleged to have deposited in her personal bank account. Maureen McDonnell is accused of using some of the $50,000 to purchase stocks, which she later asked to have taken out of her name to avoid certain annual reporting requirements. After the stock was sold in December 2011, Maureen McDonnell bought back shares in the company in January 2012.
In June 2011, Maureen McDonnell is alleged to have flown in a Star Scientific jet to Florida where she spoke at an event heavily attended by Star Scientific investors. At that event, she is alleged to have offered the governor’s mansion for the location of a product launch for the company. Later on that year, Maureen McDonnell is alleged to have asked Williams to buy Bob McDonnell a Rolex engraved with “71st Governor of Virginia,” something he later did.
Williams gave a second $50,000 loan to the McDonnells in March 2012, according to the complaint. The McDonnells and Williams are alleged to have taken steps to make it difficult for anyone to discern to whom the check was written. In May 2012, Bob McDonnell allegedly asked for an additional $20,000 loan from Williams, which he later received.
The McDonnells are also alleged to have tried to help Williams convince researchers from the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University to accept Star Scientific’s Anatabloc for clinical trials. Star Scientific would have been facing enormous cost were it to fund the testing of the drug.
Other alleged misdeeds include Bob McDonnell accepting a golf outing to a private course in Manakin-Sabot that rang up thousands of dollars in charges, the McDonnell family accepting a private vacation at Williams’ multi-million dollar vacation home on Smith Mountain Lake, the McDonnell family vacationing as guests of Williams at a Massachusetts luxury resort and spa and several other episodes.
According to the complaint, Maureen McDonnell is alleged to have lied to law enforcement officers regarding the first $50,000 loan and the $15,000 check when interviewed in February 2013. A month later, Maureen McDonnell is alleged to have returned some of the clothing from the April 2011 shopping trip to Williams.
McDonnell’s replacement, Terry McAuliffe, issued a statement Tuesday.
“I am obviously troubled by the charges that federal prosecutors have made against Governor McDonnell and his wife Maureen and the message that this period in our history sends about how government in this Commonwealth is run,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a news release. “As this case progresses, it is my sincerest hope that justice will be served and that Virginians get the answers to which they are entitled. As Governor, I will remain focused on leading this Commonwealth in a way that restores Virginians’ trust in government and honors their expectation of transparency and accountability.
On the day he took office, McAuliffe issued an executive order establishing a $100 cap on gifts given to him, his family, members of the executive branch and their families. The order also established an Executive Branch Ethics Commission to oversee the execution of the new order.
The office of William J. Howell, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, issued a statement Tuesday on behalf of the House Republican leadership.
“We are very disappointed by the news today. We have all known Bob McDonnell for a long time. He is a good friend whom we deeply respect. He has served his country and Commonwealth for nearly his entire adult life. We know that he has always strived to serve with the utmost conviction and integrity. Admittedly, he has made mistakes in judgment. He has apologized for those actions, which we know all Virginians deeply appreciate,” the statement read. “We are a nation of laws. We believe in the rule of law and are confident in the ability of our legal system to render the rightful judgment, whatever it may be. That process must be allowed to run its course without interference or impediment.”
The complaint lists several items subject to forfeiture as part of the indictment, including: $140,805,46 in cash, several items from Louis Vuitton, the Rolex, several other items of luxury clothing, golf clubs, iPhones and numerous other items.
The McDonnells have both been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud, three counts of honest-services wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right, six counts of obtaining property under color of official right, two counts of making false statements and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.
Bob McDonnell served as governor of Virginia from January 2010 to January of this year. Prior to that, he served as the Attorney General of Virginia and in the House of Delegates. Bob and Maureen McDonnell, a former Washington Redskins cheerleader, have five children together.
A bond hearing has been set for the two at 10 a.m. Friday in U.S. District Court in Richmond.
The James City County Board of Supervisors has scheduled an additional meeting to review search firms to find a new county administrator.
