Showing posts with label bob mcdonnell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bob mcdonnell. Show all posts

Friday, September 5, 2014

Verdict: McDonnells Found Guilty of Bribery and Conspiracy

photo imagesqtbnANd9GcQLlno4lTGOaqhnS6lMw.jpg

Previous Related Posts:
Bob McDonnell Blames "Crazy" Wife in Bribery Case
Ex-Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell and Wife Indicted
Cuccinelli Loses in Virginia, GOP Heads Explode
McDonnell and Cuccinelli Fight War on Women in Virginia
Jim DeMint Pushes Vaginal Probe Opportunities

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Virginia Jury came back with a verdict in the case of Ex-Gov Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen. Guilty! And this works out well, since Bob McDonnell's defense was that he and Maureen were estranged anyway. Now they can have separate jails.

From Business Insider
McDonnell was widely considered a possible running mate for presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012. He was charged with doing favors for a wealthy vitamin executive in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. The 14 counts stemmed from their acceptance of gifts, luxury vacations, and large loans from Jonnie Williams Sr., then-CEO of Star Scientific.
. . . Both Bob and Maureen bowed heads and wept as a chorus of “guiltys” kept coming from court clerk. Bob McDonnell was found guilty on counts 1-11. His wife was found guilty on counts 1-3, 5-8, 10, and 14.














From the Washington Post
RICHMOND — A federal jury on Thursday found former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, guilty of public corruption — sending an emphatic 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.
. . . The verdict means that Robert McDonnell, the first governor in Virginia history to be charged with a crime, now holds an even more unwanted distinction — the first to be convicted of one.
He and his wife face decades in federal prison, although their actual sentences are likely to fall well short of that. U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer set a sentencing hearing for Jan. 6.

~~~~~~~



















Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Ex-Virginia Gov McDonnell Blames "Crazy" Wife in Bribery Case

photo 0-1.jpg

Estranged? Or just Strange?

Previous Related Posts:
Ex Gov Bob McDonnell and Wife Indicted
Cuccinelli Loses in Virginia, GOP Heads Explode
McDonnell and Cuccinelli Fight War on Women in Virginia
Jim DeMint Pushes Vaginal Probe Opportunities

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ex-Governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell is letting his estranged wife take the blame for their downfall. He testified last week to looking the other way and just not noticing that his family was taking expensive gifts from health-food guru Jonnie Williams. In effect, he is throwing his wife completely under the bus like the coward he is.



So after Labor Day there should be a verdict. Stay tuned. :)

From the Daily Beast
McDonnell has been accused of taking more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from businessman Jonnie Williams in exchange for government assistance promoting a health food product made from tobacco. A coterie of aides and political consultants helped the McDonnells project the image of the perfect family: Governor, Boy Scout, former Redskins cheerleader mom, five children, values up the kazoo. Behind the scenes, it was more like the Home Shopping Network. Emails reveal Maureen McDonnell lobbying Williams for an inaugural dress, eventually spending $17,000 of his money on a shopping spree in New York to cover her inaugural wardrobe and sundry other events befitting the first lady of Virginia.
. . . Maureen McDonnell may have signed off on the legal strategy. But the strained look on her face as she enters the courtroom, and the reporting on how she and her estranged husband never exchange even so much as a glance, suggest she didn’t know how awful the trial would get—that whitewashing his behavior would mean blackening hers and turning them both into objects of ridicule, not sympathy.

From CBS News
(Daughter) Jeanine McDonnell said her parents rarely spoke to each other in private, going back decades. She also said her mother developed an unusually close friendship with Williams.
Part of the McDonnells' defense is that they could not have engaged in a criminal conspiracy because they barely talked to each other. Maureen McDonnell's lawyer also said during opening statements last month that the former first lady had a crush on Williams, who "duped" her into thinking he cared for her.
While the attorney, William A. Burck, did not label Williams her "lover" or say the two had an affair, he did say that most people would call their relationship "inappropriate."
. . . "I think she had a mild obsession with Jonnie," she testified.

From Politico
. . . McDonnell laid out the painful details of his marriage, step by step, sounding by turns earnest and devastated.
When he said he scolded her, during his days as Virginia attorney general, for using a campaign list to help promote her “nutraceutical” products — dietary supplements that are supposed to provide health benefits — he was clearly depicting himself as the ethical one in the relationship. But he also tried to sound like the understanding husband: “I knew she was upset about that. It was her job. It was what she was good at.”
. . . Unfortunately for McDonnell, he didn’t always hit the perfect notes when talking about the money his family received from Jonnie Williams, the businessman to whom the couple allegedly traded favors for gifts and loans.

WVEC-TV
(Prosecutor Michael) Dry ... asked McDonnell why he didn't disclose thousands of dollars worth of golf trips, clubs and accessories. Last week, McDonnell said they weren't reported because of a breakdown in the system that the staff uses to track gifts but he reiterated Monday that it was ultimately his fault the gifts weren't reported.
The judge ended today's (Aug. 25) testimony by asking Dry if he was close to being finished and Dry said he was not. The judge then looked at the jury and said, "Maybe it's just me, but does this feel like the longest day of your life?"



From Richmond Times-Dispatch
Maureen McDonnell’s chief of staff depicted the former first lady Wednesday as a screaming “nutbag” in search of a designer handbag and an emotional rescue.
. . . Mary-Shea Sutherland’s testimony on day eight of the McDonnells’ federal corruption trial portrayed a frustrated first lady placated by Jonnie R. Williams Sr., a free-spending dietary-supplement impresario, then CEO of Star Scientific.
Sutherland depicted Maureen McDonnell as so undone by her privileged surroundings and financial limitations that the first lady grabbed at gifts, raged at staff, and even falsely accused the Executive Mansion chef of trying to ruin her Christmas by serving “bad shrimp.”
The tawdry testimony led some courtroom spectators to roll their eyes, shake their heads and snicker in disbelief.
















Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Ex-Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell and Wife Indicted

photo McDonnells.png

No wonder Bob McDonnell didn't care about the women of Virginia who protested his draconian and scary Vaginal Ultrasound law - he and his wacky wifey Maureen were too busy helping themselves to the spoils at the Governor's Mansion. And now they've been indicted for taking gifts in exchange for favors, otherwise known as "Quid Pro Quo." They are officially the poster family for shallow and money-grubbing politicians. And GOP wanted to run this guy for President? Boy, they really know how to pick 'em - isn't that right, Chris Christie?

From CNN Political Ticker
The 14-count indictment, culminating a lengthy investigation of their relationship with a Virginia business executive, alleges fraud by a public official, false statements, and obstruction.
Gifts valued at a minimum of $140,000 in total included designer clothes, a Rolex watch, golf clubs, iPhones and a painting, according to a list of items included in the indictment.
Within hours of the indictment, McDonnell's legal team launched a forceful attack on the government's case.
. . . "It has been a long time since the Roman Emperor Caligula imprisoned people for violating laws written in tiny lettering on a pillar too high to see," the lawyers wrote in making a comparison to the federal government's case against McDonnell.

From Stylecaster
The total financial worth of the things they accepted, according to the official indictment, is “no less than $140,805″ and is comprised of Louis Vuitton shoes, a Peter Som dress, two Oscar de la Renta gowns, Rebecca Minkoff shoes, and a few pieces of Armani for good measure, among other goodies.
So why, exactly, does this warrant the attention of the federal government? According to the indictment, the gifts came from Jonnie Williams, the head of a troubled nutritional supplement company who allegedly plied the McDonnells with expensive presents in exchange for the promotion of his business.


























Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, September 15, 2012

McDonnell and Cuccinelli Fight War on Women in Virginia




From Ms. Magazine:
Today the Virginia Board of Health met and voted 13-2 to reverse their June decision to grandfather in existing clinics, exempting them from new, hospital-like restrictions for the state's abortion clinics, commonly called TRAP laws or Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers. Instead, the board has allowed existing clinics to come into compliance with regulations within two years or face closure.

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli refused to accept the grandfather provision asserting the board did not have the authority to amend the regulations. Cuccinelli also released a memo on Wednesday, threatening Board of Health members by telling them, according to the Virginia Pilot, that "they could be denied state legal counsel and [would] have to pay for their own defense if they again disregard his advice about relaxing controversial abortion clinic rules and litigation ensues."

. . . The Board of Health meeting was packed today, with people filling both the board room and an overflow room and some 200 people standing outside who couldn't gain admission. During the time set aside by the Board for public comment 14 pro-choice, abortion access supporters spoke, including representatives from Planned Parenthood, ACLU and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Eleven anti-abortion opponents, including National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Virginia Family Foundation, also spoke. After the Board reversed its decision, some pro-choice advocates walked out of the room, chanting "shame shame, you don't care if women die."







Shame! Shame! You don't give a sh** about women living in Virginia.
~ Anonymous woman shouting after the Virginia Board of Health caved in to pressure from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and made a resolution that might close down 15-20 abortion clinics across the state.


"We're not lawyers. We're not politicians. We're a completely apolitical body, and suddenly we're thrown in a completely political situation. And I don't think we coped very well.
~ James Edmondson, Jr., member of the Virginia Board of Health


This board decision is an underhanded method to make abortion inaccessible and outrageously expensive. Without clinics there is no choice for women. It threatens women's health and lives because many women's health clinics in Virginia may be forced out of business. These unnecessary and arbitrary rules will result in Virginia women having restricted access to not only abortion services but also to low-cost birth control services, cancer screenings, and sexually transmitted disease testing, as well as other women's health services.
~ Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation






































Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

RNC Opening Night ~ One Hand Clapping for Lame Speeches

Photobucket

via gifsfln-tumblr

John Boehner, Speaker of the House
















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reince Priebus, RNC President















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mia Love, Mayor, Saratoga Springs, Utah














~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janine Turner, Actress, Northern Exposure












~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rick Santorum
















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gov. John Kasich, Ohio




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia



















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina


















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luce Fortuno, First Lady of Puerto Rico













~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ann Romney
















~~~~~~~~~~

Gov. Chris Christie, New Jersey


















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mitt Romney












~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Racial Mix and Bizarre Incident







Talking Points Memo
The CNN official declined to confirm specific details of the incident to TPM but generally confirmed an account posted on Twitter by former MSNBC and Current anchor David Shuster: “GOP attendee ejected for throwing nuts at African American CNN camera woman + saying ‘This is how we feed animals.’”
It is not clear whether the alleged culprit was a delegate or attending the convention in some other capacity.
In a written statement, CNN addressed the matter but divulged few details: “CNN can confirm there was an incident directed at an employee inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum earlier this afternoon. CNN worked with convention officials to address this matter and will have no further comment.”

From Politico
The RNC referred POLITICO to GOP Convention spokesperson Kyle Downey for comment. . . .
UPDATE: GOP convention spokesman Kyle Downey tells POLITICO, "Two attendees tonight exhibited deplorable behavior. Their conduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated."





Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)