Virtucon: McDonnell Lawyers Up

lawyer-up

Hot off the presses from Virginia Virtucon comes the latest and greatest on the Star Scientific scandal:

Decades ago there was saying in Washington DC,  ”if you know you’re guilty hire Edward Bennett Williams“.  Conversely when a person hired Edward Bennett Williams, people assumed he was guilty.    Williams was the founding partner of the famous DC law firm, Williams and Connelly.   He defended such people as Senator Joe McCarthy and Jimmy Hoffa.   Williams also owned sports teams, including the Redskins and Orioles.

Last week we learned that a high powered, well known, Williams and Connelly partner, Emmet T. Flood,  was hired by the Governor and met with him at the Governor’s mansion on Tuesday.

This is getting worse by the minute.

Meanwhile, while we’re on the topic of honest services fraud, this little tidbit might be of some interest:

In a ruling important to prosecutions involving public officials, the D.C. Circuit recently provided guidance concerning the honest services fraud statute. In upholding the conviction of former Abramoff associate Kevin Ring, the court held that the government did not have to prove an explicit quid pro quo. Further, the court held, the government did not have to prove actual acceptance of gifts—the mere offer is enough to sustain a finding of fraud. Prosecutors will likely welcome this ruling, as it rejects defenses being raised in honest services fraud cases post-Skilling.

In short, you don’t have to demonstrate an actual quid pro quo.  The mere offer alone — the mere suspicion or sense of impropriety — is enough to convict.

Back on topic, it would appear as if rumors of McDonnell’s impending resignation are being flatly denied by the governor himself via NBC 12’s Ryan Nobles, though there has been little speculation as to whether or not a plea agreement is being discussed at this juncture.

Over at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, it appears as if the chef that kicked all this off at the Governor’s Mansion will get a ruling on a motion to dismiss this week:

If the case goes forward, Schneider will stand trial in October on  the felony charges, setting up a politically explosive proceeding that could threaten the reputation of a sitting Republican governor and the man who wants his job,just three weeks before Virginians elect a new chief executive.

Schneider has maintained that mansion staff  told him to take food in lieu of payment for numerous private, personal and political events the McDonnells held that extended beyond the scope of his official duties.

The chef also provided information to state and federal investigators and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office accusing the first family of misappropriating mansion resources.

Of course, you gotta admit that all of this nonsense is very symptomatic of a greater problem — namely the gifts system in Richmond, which deserves more sunlight than scapegoating at this rate.

Ethics…


caspar_johnny

“I’m talkin’ about friendship. I’m talkin’ about character. I’m talkin’ about – hell.  Leo, I ain’t embarrassed to use the word — I’m talkin’ about ethics.”

That’s what we’re talking about.

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