To my knowledge, this would be the first major news outlet to make this call:
State and federal authorities are investigating. On Monday, The Washington Post reported, federal officials met with attorneys for the governor and his wife to discuss whether the couple should be charged. That
is a dire prospect, one that underscores the magnitude of the situation and the need for steady leadership and credible reform of the system that enabled the current mess.
McDonnell’s failure to completely disclose his family’s financial ties to Star Scientific has diminished his credibility and drained his capacity to lead the commonwealth. The latest revelations, even without the possibility of an indictment of the commonwealth’s chief executive, make the prospect of his continued leadership untenable. He must devote his full attention to sorting out his personal and legal problems.
For the good of his office, of the state and of every Virginian – and for the good of his family and of himself – McDonnell should resign.
Since the “mea culpa” last month, several new and embarrassing revelations have continued to pour forth. The latest turn of events — that Jonnie Williams is co-operating with federal prosecutors and that First Lady Marueen McDonnell is being carefully hedged out — point towards an evolution in the federal and state investigations.
Rumors — and for what they are worth, they are rumors — suggest that something much more serious is about to come forward in the next 7-10 days. Should it be substantial, then one would expect the calls for resignation to sharply intensify.
UPDATE: No friend of the governor, the Lynchburg News Advance did call for McDonnell’s resignation in late July. Still, given the comparison of major news markets, the Virginia Pilot is indeed one of the larger news outlets in Virginia (the WaPo and RTD being the other two).
