kos: The McDonnell indictment is as sordid as you think it was [View all]
Thu Jan 23, 2014 at 08:15 AM PST
The McDonnell indictment is as sordid as you think it was
by kos
The indictment of the McDonnell power(less) couple is great reading, as far as legal documents go. But hey, you're busy! And while the toplines are simple enough ("they're corrupt as fuck"

, I've whipped up a more condensed version.
THE CAST
Robert (Bob) McDonnell, former governor of Virginia
Maureen McDonnell, former first lady of Virginia
Star Scientific, made supplements it claimed reduced chronic inflammation
JW, CEO of Star Scientific (Jonnie Williams)
MoBo Real Estate Partners, owned two houses in Virginia Beach, half owned by Bob McDonnell. The houses were over-leveraged and the company was in deep debt.
THE FIRST MEETING
While running for governor in 2009, McDonnell's staff asked JW for permission to use his private jet. After McDonnell was elected, JW asked to meet with the governor-elect, you know, because he had been tooling around all year on his plane.
So they met at a Four Seasons in December 2009. Maureen McDonnell immediately hit up JW for a dress for the inauguration, and he agreed to buy her an Oscar de la Renta designer dress. After she told her husband's staff, they were like "are you crazy?" Actually, the indictment says that the staffer "expressed concerns ... and would be inappropriate and should not be done." Maureen "became upset" with the staffer, which apparently means she threw a tantrum, and she wouldn't let it go. Soon thereafter, Maureen sent that staffer an email:
I need to talk to you about Inaugural clothing budget. I need answers and Bob is screaming about the thousands I'm charging up in credit card debt. We are broke, have an unconscionable amount in credit card debt already, and this Inaugural is killing us! I need answers and I need help, and I need to get this done.
Still, Maureen told JW she could not accept the dress, but would take a "rain check" from him. And
it was quite the rain check! In fact, it was a deluge, as you'll see below the fold.
more...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/23/1271692/-The-McDonnell-indictment-is-as-sordid-as-you-think-it-was?detail=facebook#