Posted on 09/04/2014 12:15:04 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A federal jury Thursday found former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, guilty of public corruption — sending a message that they believed the couple sold the office once occupied by Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson to a free spending Richmond businessman for golf outings, lavish vacations and $120,000 in sweetheart loans.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Paying for access? Now where have we heard those charges before?
Corruption is on both sides of the aisle at the highest levels of government. We need to clean this crap up.
Rid corruption anywhere it is found.
I think in the fine print of those laws, it says it’s only a crime if one is a Republican.
No mention of the fact that he is a republican until the next to last paragraph. This is the reverse of the usual treatment of party affiliation, where democrat is nor mentioned but republican headlined.
“The case had more nuanced, legal questions, too: namely, did the governor and his wife perform or promise to perform so-called “official acts” for Williams in exchange for $177,000 in gifts and loans? Prosecutors argued they did. Those acts, they said, came in the form of meetings that McDonnell arranged for Williams with state officials, a luncheon Williams was allowed to throw at the governor’s mansion to help launch a product he was trying to sell, and a guest list Williams was allowed to shape at another mansion reception meant for healthcare leaders.”
The governor was simply doing his job to promote a Virginia based business and opened up his home to a local businessman.
His biggest crime, the crime that will not be listed on any indictment or jury verdict, is that the governor is a Republican, a Republican in a state that the Democrats think they can make headway in future presidential elections.
Well, we know the current governor of Virginia is clean as a whistle, right?.................................
Wasn’t this the RINO that the Republican Establishment was pimping as presidential material?
A hefty prison sentence is in order. Not a cushy prison but the same as regular citizens go to. Maybe that will send a true message that this crap will not be tolerated.
“Wasn’t this the RINO that the Republican Establishment was pimping as presidential material?”
Yes and it looks like corrupt RINO. I’m not going to make any excuses for this guy. As far as I’m concerned the stuff he and his wife did was beyond the pale for someone in the Governor’s office. Or any elected office. Yes the Dems get away with this stuff all the time but it does not make it right.
Selling the WH Lincoln bedroom to lib donors comes to mind for starters.
I find Williams, the pill peddler, that McDonnell fell prey to as a curious character. While I have no proof on this point, I have entertained the thought that Willams may have been working undercover for the Dems and set up McDonnell. That does not excuse McDonnell for succumbing and taking the gifts but what it says is that in the future any Conservative must be on their toes and assume from the get-go that whoever offers anything of value is setting them up.
He sounds like the Virginia version of Charlie Crist, Florida’s ex governor, now running again as a Democrat...................
I am not condoning it, but the one-sided views and lavish historical references are comical to write. The creative juices flow when dumping on the GOP...WaPo hates them.
WaPo won’t cover that...silly man.
I cannot find the official act that benefitted Williams (who was somehow NOT charged). But the judge defined "official act" as anything the governor did -- including sending an email inviting Williams to come talk to him. I cannot find anything that Gov. McDonnell did that was of financial or regulatory benefit to Williams.
I know for a FACT that if the circumstances were exactly the same and McDonnell were a Democrat, there would never have been an indictment, let alone a conviction. EVERYONE knows that.
The indictment served them so well in defeating Cuccinelli (which was its real purpose) that they decided to extend the trial into the off-year Congressional campaign season to see if tehy could get more victories out of it. And the way the Party of Compassion is dancing around and celebrating this conviction is unseemly -- but it tells me a LOT about the merits of the case. (And about the real nature of liberal "compassion", as if we didn't know that already.)
I know for a FACT that if the circumstances were exactly the same and McDonnell were a Democrat, there would never have been an indictment, let alone a conviction. EVERYONE knows that.
The indictment served them so well in defeating Cuccinelli (which was its real purpose) that they decided to extend the trial into the off-year Congressional campaign season to see if tehy could get more victories out of it. And the way the Party of Compassion is dancing around and celebrating this conviction is unseemly -- but it tells me a LOT about the merits of the case. (And about the real nature of liberal "compassion", as if we didn't know that already.)
You mean like that hard-time “spa” Jesse Jackson Junior got sent to. . .and promptly filed for disability ??
Why is this guy looking at thirty yrs. in The Big House, while the likes of Bill Clinton is making plans to move back to The White House?
Yes the double standard is infuriating but it also makes me mad to see our people engaging in corruption. They should be better than the Democrats.
Bill Clinton is certain to move back to the White House. The American people demand it!
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