The jury continues its deliberations today in the federal trial of former Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen. The two defendants face 14 counts involving corruption, obstruction of justice, and lying on financial documents. Much of the disagreement over whether the former first couple broke the law by accepting gifts and loans from ex-Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams—while supporting his business—comes from differing interpretations of what some believe are murky ethics and corruption laws.
Until this year, Virginia law set no limits on gifts that governors could accept—and merely required annual disclosures. Republican Delegate David Albo chairs the House Courts of Justice Committee.
“Instead of deciding what gifts are good and what gifts are bad, you put them all on the Internet, and then the voters can decide.”
Since the law required the state to keep disclosures for only five years, gifts to previous Republican governors are unavailable. But the Virginia Public Access Project reports that Governor Mark Warner disclosed gifts totaling nearly $130,000. Governor Tim Kaine disclosed more than $200,000 in gifts, including clothes and a Caribbean vacation from campaign donors whom he appointed to state commissions. But Albo says the disclosure law made exceptions.
“You didn’t have to reports gifts that your family members would receive, and you didn’t have to report gifts from personal friends.”
McDonnell testified that this is why he did not need to report gifts to his family, but he said he should have reported golf outings and a golf bag HE received. He said he disclosed a loan to his wife, but not two loans to his family business—since the law did not require disclosure of corporate loans. But prosecutors say he was trying to hide a corrupt agreement to exchange gifts for official acts—in violation of the federal Hobbs Act. Democrat Paul Goldman says there’s a decades-long dispute over what federal officials should do with the Act.
“Defense lawyers feel that they have been aggressive in expanding the reach of the Hobbs Act beyond which it was intended—and make it easier and easier to convict people. The prosecution takes another view. They think, ‘Well, we have to go after the corruption, and that’s all we’re doing.’”
The Justice Department says the 1946 Hobbs Act was enacted to combat racketeering in labor-management disputes, but it uses the extortion statute for public corruption. Some courts have interpreted the Act very strictly to require proof of a quid pro quo. Political analyst Bob Holsworth stresses that Williams received no state funds.
“The prosecutors argue that Jonnie Williams received favorable treatment in some fashion, and that there was an intent of a quid pro quo.”
But some ask how this differs from other governors who’ve promoted donors’ businesses or appointed gift-givers to prestigious positions. Albo adds that PAST governors also did not have to report gifts TO family or FROM friends, so all undisclosed gifts are unknown.
“If the United States attorney had given any governor in the past the same scrutiny, they would have found something. All of them have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts. What our problem right now with the United States attorney’s office is, if they’re going to have these rules, it would be really great if they’d spell them out, so we all know what the rules are—because being charged with a crime is about the worst thing that can happen to you.”
McDonnell said he gave Williams only routine access to government—because all Virginians who want it should have such access. He said the case rests on a misguided legal theory that promoting a Virginia business—which all governors do—becomes a serious federal crime if it involves a gift-giver or donor. Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Jeff Shapiro recently told NPR that the laws ARE unclear.
“I hear this frequently from lawyers, that some of the statutes under which this prosecution is taking place are very vague.”
It’s now up to the jury to decide.