Miller: “Big Damn Deal!”
Andrew Miller, Virginia Attorney General 1970-1977 and a Democrat, blasted US Attorney General Eric Holder over his investigation of state Sen. Phil Puckett’s resignation.
“The foregoing assumes that there i anything to investigate related to Senator Puckett’s resignation. Nothing which has been reported in the media, however, suggests that any criminal activity has occurred. Puckett’s daughter could not be elected to the judgeship she seeks while he served in the Legislature. In light of the fact that his senatorial district, unlike most districts, has traditionally grown burley tobacco, the Senator could bring valuable knowledge and experience to the Commonwealth’s Tobacco Commission. A a consequence, he was offered a job there.
“If you will pardon my English, big damn deal! Such transitions from a legislative capacity to an executive role in Richmond have occurred both frequently and recently under Democratic and Republican Administrations….In fact they are common occurrence in States all over America, almost every year, without the “benefit” of an FBI investigation.
“Thus, this FBI intrusion into Virginia’s self-government can only be characterized as designed to serve partisan ends.”
The Miller letter was sent July 4 and demanded from the US AG a response as to whether there was communications between the US AG and the governor’s office in advance of the investigation and the content should such communication have occurred. Miller gave Holder two weeks to reply. My guess is he’s not holding his breath.
Brat raises $400k
Kudos to Dave Brat for coming out swinging in the past month and having a great fundraising month:
Republican candidate for Congress Dave Brat announced today that his campaign has raised nearly $400,000 in the 40 days ended June 30th, with the bulk of those dollars coming from 4673 individual donors.
Of the actual $399,660 raised from May 22 to the end of the reporting period on June 30th, $363,560 — or 91 percent — came from 4673 individuals. The figures are part of the candidate’s quarterly finance report due today at the Federal Election Commission.
The majority of all 4684 donors were small dollar contributors. 4402 donated $200 or less, while 271 contributors donated more than $200. Political committees, party committees, and PACs accounted for 11 contributions totaling $36,100.
“The response has been incredible. It has exceeded all expectations. I’m so grateful to the thousands of contributors who have supported us,” said Brat. “The huge number of smaller dollar contributors shows how much of a grassroots ‘campaign of the people’ this really is.”
Gillespie keeping pace
Yes, Mark Warner raised $2.7 million. But Ed Gillespie is still right there with $1.9 million.
“The Ed Gillespie for Senate Campaign announced today that it raised $1.9 million in the second quarter, bringing its fundraising in the first two quarters to $4.1 million. The campaign reported $3.1 million cash on hand at the end of the second quarter. The campaign brought in 3,305 new donors in the second quarter. Gillespie received contributions from 47 donors who had previously given to Mark Warner. In the first two quarters, 3,293 of the campaign’s donors were from Virginia, including donors from 123 of Virginia’s 133 Counties & Independent Cities.”
