"Stunned by Right Wing Garbage Published in Lynchburg News and Advance"
Local legislators stunned by McDonnell verdict that was the headline for the original article. What were Steve , Kathy and Scottie stunned by? Did they somehow think it was ok to trade the influence of your office for personal gain? I guess they were shocked to find out its not ok.
Original article by Alicia Petska
Local representatives were stunned by the guilty verdicts handed down Thursday in the corruption trial of former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen. None of them ever thought a republican with religious connections could ever be convicted of any criminal act. All three will hold the criminally convicted duo in their prayers and stressed that the McDonnells were misunderstood and had only made a mistake. They never acted criminally the trio opined. A jury of Virginians saw it differently.
“It’s clearly a sad day for Virginia,” said state Sen. Steve Newman, adding he personally was saddened as he’s known and worked alongside McDonnell for more than two decades. Newman said “He has been such an honorable man, fighting day in and day out for Virginia's women to have the right to a forced ultra sound".
Del. Kathy Byron, who joined the House in 1998, said she was extremely disappointed. Disappointed with what Kathy? The corrupt Gov. and first lady or could you be referring to the verdict? “I served with the governor for many years, and he served with distinction,” said Byron, R-Bedford. Kathy I'm willing to bet the people of Bedford see selling influence as wrong even thou you don't. “He cared about families and about making the commonwealth a better place. I believe that’s what he dedicated his life to do.” Checked your ethics at the door, Huh! Kathy?
Newman said he hoped the McDonnells would “sprint” to the appeals court. Sprinting to the appeals court is what Newman sees as an answer to the lack of Ethics Laws in Virginia for politicians. You are a senator, introduce a bill with some teeth and establish a system of ethical conduct for politicians. Why hasn't that been done already Steve?
“I think there is an important distinction between making a mistake and committing felonies,” he said, adding he doesn’t believe there was criminal intent behind the former first couple’s actions. What do you base your belief on Steve? Did you know Bob well enough to believe he could walk the razors edge and never get cut? Once again republicans can do no wrong. Come on Newman look around this is the real world.
Mat Staver, a vice president with Liberty University and dean of its law school, said he was grieved for the McDonnells, who now face possible prison time. Would you be grieved for a democrat facing prison time? A regular working man facing lock up? My God you're the dean of the liberty law school. What kind of silly little world do you live in?
Gov. McDonnell spoke at LU several times while in office, and the school administration stood by him as the gift-giving scandal unfolded. Send him a cheese box in prison, hold a job for him when he gets out. It wasn't a gift-giving scandel Mat it was a public official trading the respect of his office for personal gain.
Earlier this year, after McDonnell and his wife had been indicted, LU invited McDonnell to be a visiting professor at its government school and he gave several lectures there. Staver said Thursday’s verdicts don't erase all the good done (specifically what good?) by McDonnell, who he described (described by who the Leadership at Liberty?) as one of Virginia’s best and most effective governors.
McDonnell’s track record at one point earned him a spot (that's BS Mitt passed on Gov Ultra sound) on the short list for the nomination for vice president.
“I think it’s sad to see a person like Bob McDonnell ultimately have this kind of punctuation point on his political career,” Staver said. “He was a rising star, and obviously that has all changed as a result of this.” 11 Criminal Convictions for Corruption = a punctuation point to a Liberty VP and Dean of The Law School, somebody make that make sense.
The jury’s decision was sending a message “loud and clear” that elected officials must be above reproach in all their dealings, Staver added. Finally Matt puts away his tears and returns to reality, briefly.
“You have to be very careful with regard to what you do as an elected official and go above and beyond what is called for,” he said. No Matt you don't have to go above and beyond you just have to be honest. I know a lot of folks go by the anything you can get away with rule, I didn't think that Liberty taught it to their students.
Thursday’s verdicts came down while LU’s law school hosted a seminar on the legal debate over the definition of marriage. What a waste of time for that debate to be hosted at Liberty. What a shame when right wing baptist try to make the laws of the United States of America conform to their specific beliefs.
Featured speakers included E.W. Jackson, who last year was the Republican Party’s nominee for lieutenant governor. When you say EW Jackson, brother you have said it all.
Sorry I can't take any more of this joke column published in the Lynchburg News and Advance.
Kathleen L. Carmody said she voted for Bob McDonnell and thought he was "terrific for Virginia" as governor — but as a juror in McDonnell's corruption trial, she was
compelled to convict him.
"The facts spoke for themselves," she told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday not long after she and fellow jurors found McDonnell guilty on 11 of 13 counts.
McDonnell's wife, Maureen, was convicted of nine of 13 charges.
The case derailed the career of the one time rising Republican star. Bob McDonnell's attorney, Henry Asbill, said his client did not receive a fair trial and will appeal.
Asbill reiterated his previous statement that prosecutors sought to criminalize routine political behavior.
"I have no idea what the jury deliberated about," Asbill said. "There are a lot of things about the case that (you) can sit back and think about but it's hard to tell when the die was cast." Henry the die was cast when Bob and Maureen stuffed their pockets with everything they could suck out of Jonnie Williams. Asbill has to be a republican, he takes no responsibility for the work he did that led to the jury's verdict. He openly attacks the jury for their decision. Absill presented a goofy and unbelievable defense and the jury made a decision on his versus the prosecution's cases.
Maureen McDonnell's attorney, William Burck, declined to comment.
McDonnell and his wife now face up to 20 years in prison on each count, although a pre sentencing report by the federal probation office will result in a lighter recommendation. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 6.
Amherst Democratic NewsStop the presses. Virginia republicans learn that there are white criminals also. Stunned by the god old boy Governor Bob's conviction on so many felonies the GOP meets in secret to try to find a way to fund Bob's defense fund without anyone finding out. The smoke signals eminate from Virginia's mountain tops asking the Koch brothers to send money and lots of it. Religo-nuts leaf thru their bibles looking for the part about throwing your wife under the bus to save your own ass. Republicans renew theit vow to vote for anything with an R after its name. Bob Goodlatte and Ben Cline breath a sigh of relief as the wool is pulled tightly over GOP eyes.
Another family values religous conservative turns out to be a corrupt phoney selling an elected office for all the traffic will bear. How many times do these A-Holes who spend their lives telling you how to live yours turn out this way? Dim witted republicans keep falling for the old family values political rap. The next family values jerk who wraps himself in the bible and tells you he will restrict the laws so everyone will have to live like these falling down funny bible thumpers do will be held aloft by the same republican voters who got burned by Bob. There is something about fantasy land that rests at the core of the republican mind and they will never wise up.
Bob could have pled to one count that didn't involve corruption and Maureen would have walked, no charges, free but they decided on this carnival sideshow in an attempt to sustain Bob's political viability. This man with the poorly functioning mind was once the Governor of Virginia. Now Bob is a man with a church connection who thinks that lets him get away with anything. In reality Bob is a convicted criminal about to earn the moniker convict.
McDonnell signed a bill into law three years ago that strips state employees of their pensions if they are convicted of a felony related to on-the-job conduct. Poetic justice for this former governor and his wife.
Bob's attorney is talking about how "they're trying to criminalize routine political behavior." Somehow I don't think that's going to fly. If Bob and Maureen call what they did routine political behavior then it needs to be criminalized, though I think it is already criminal (so says the jury). Henry Asbill sees a big payday representing Bob as lots of gullible republicans donate to the former gov's defense fund. Bob and Maureen McDonnell are convicted criminals, convicted of multiple felonies.
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife were convicted Thursday of taking bribes to promote a dietary supplement in a corruption case that derailed the career of the onetime rising Republican star and laid bare the couple's broken marriage.
A federal jury in Richmond convicted Bob McDonnell of 11 of the 13 counts he faced; Maureen McDonnell was convicted of nine of the 13 counts she faced. Both bowed their heads and wept as the court clerk read a chorus of "guilty" verdicts.
Widely considered a possible running mate for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential campaign, McDonnell was reduced to living with the family's priest in a church rectory during the trial. Now he and his wife face up to 20 years in prison for each conspiracy, fraud and bribery conviction. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 6.
The couple's defense strategy depended in large part on persuading jurors that their marriage itself was a fraud and that they were unable to speak to each other, let alone conspire to accept bribes. They left the courtroom separately - first Bob and then Maureen, who hugged one of her daughters and wept loudly on the way out.
Bob McDonnell was ashen as he was mobbed by TV cameras before climbing into a waiting blue Mercedes. The jurors did noticed by their verdict that Mr. and Mrs McDonnell got along well enough to convince the voters of Virginia that they were a happy family values couple and that these things they called a loan only became a loan when the public found out about them.
"All I can say is that my trust remains in the Lord," he said quietly. Still playing the old religious rap as a way to get out of trouble.?
The couple was convicted on nearly all the counts involving doing favors for wealthy vitamin executive Jonnie Williams in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans that they admitted taking.
Maureen McDonnell also was convicted of obstructing justice after the scandal broke, by returning a designer gown Williams had bought for her during a New York shopping trip, along with a handwritten note that tried to diminish its value by suggesting they had agreed Williams could give the dress to his daughters or to charity. That conviction also carries a potential 20-year term.
Jurors acquitted them of bank fraud on loan applications that failed to mention the money Williams lent them. It became a loan later after those applications were made.
Amherst Democratic News
The former governor, his head in his hands, began crying as soon as he heard the first sob from his daughter Cailin. Other family members and supporters followed suit.
The weeping became louder, and McDonnell's sobbing grew more intense, with each succeeding finding of guilt. Now its on to the appeals process as big republican donors chip in to the funds pool for the next stage of the Bob and Maureen sideshow.
Testifying in his own defense, McDonnell insisted that he provided nothing more than routine political courtesies to the former CEO of Star Scientific, a Virginia-based dietary supplements company. His wife's lawyers, meanwhile, said Williams preyed on her vulnerability after she developed a "crush" on the businessman. The Pat Robinson way, take the bribes and then blame Williams for the gift.
The jurors all declined to speak to reporters as they left the courthouse through a back door.
"I just want to go home," one of them said. Another said a long hot shower was badly needed.
McDonnell's attorney, is talking about how "they're trying to criminalize routine political behavior." Somehow I don't think that's going to fly. Absill said he will appeal. Who is paying Bob's legal bills, is Henry Asbill working for free? Maureen McDonnell's attorney, William Burck, declined comment.
Asbill said he was shocked, dazed, confused, taken aback, blind sided, surprised, let down, fooled, tricked and disappointed. He complained that prosecutors sought to criminalize routine political behavior, and said "I have no idea what the jury deliberated about." Absill has no idea what the jury deliberated about, is this man a real, passed the bar attorney or a Regent U., Liberty Law School trained schister? Asbill is one dense human being who appears not to have much of a feeling when it comes to a clients guilt or basic ethics. Can't help but wonder if Absill was one of the wise guys who dreamed up Bob's defense?
Williams, who testified under immunity, said he spent freely on the McDonnells to secure their help promoting his tobacco-derived anti-inflammatory supplement Anatabloc as a treatment for ulcers, Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis. Williams declined to comment on the verdicts, his attorney said.
His gifts included nearly $20,000 in designer clothing and accessories for Maureen McDonnell, a $6,500 engraved Rolex watch for Bob, $15,000 in catering for their daughter Cailin's wedding, free family vacations and golf outings for their boys. Williams also provided three loans totaling $120,000. Just normal acts of kindness we receive every day from our friends, right Bob?
As the gifts rolled in, the McDonnells appeared at promotional events and even hosted a launch luncheon for Anatabloc at the governor's mansion. Williams and his associates also were allowed into a reception for Virginia health care leaders at the mansion, and McDonnell arranged meetings with state health officials as Williams sought state money and the credibility of Virginia's universities for research that would support Anatabloc. Just things Bob would do for anyone who gave him $200 thousand in gifts and such.
Defense lawyers argued that none of these were favors for bribes, because the governor didn't consider the favors to be anything special, the research grant applications were never submitted, and being first lady isn't an official position. Bob said he did for Williams what he would do for anyone giving him expensive gifts and money, nothing more.
If she's not a public official and the couple weren't speaking, there was no conspiracy, the defense said. Is this dumb or what? How much legal training do it take to dream this one up? They showed up for court holding hands and smiling. They split up when the judge wouldn't grant them two individual trials. Maureen stayed at the home where they were living together up to that point and Bob took any bed he could find.
Witnesses - including the former governor himself - said Maureen McDonnell despised being first lady, and was prone to such angry outbursts that the mansion staff threatened a mass resignation. McDonnell said he began working unnecessarily late, just to avoid her anger. In common terms Bob was a pussy who couldn't deal with his own wife.
Amherst Democratic News
While they initially showed up at the courthouse hand-in-hand, they split up once the judge refused to try them separately, and the former governor testified that they were living apart during the trial.
If Maureen McDonnell was portrayed as erratic, the powerful and straight-arrow image her politician husband fostered didn't fare much better. The defense introduced a September 2011 email from McDonnell to his wife lamenting the deterioration of their marriage, complaining about her "fiery anger" and begging her to work with him to repair the relationship.
While several witnesses described the first lady's relationship with Williams as inappropriate and flirtatious, none suggested it was physical, and Williams testified that his dealings with both McDonnells were all business.
Prosecutors said the McDonnells turned to Williams in desperation because they were grappling with $90,000 in credit card debt and annual losses of $40,000 to $60,000 on family-owned vacation rentals in Virginia Beach. Williams said he wrote the first $50,000 check to Maureen after she complained about their money troubles and offered to help his company.
Virginia has among the nation's weakest political ethics laws (republicans want to keep it that way), and McDonnell repeatedly stressed that he did nothing to violate them. But this case was federal, and both prosecutors and FBI officials said the verdicts send a message that state laws provide no shelter from corruption prosecutions. Knowing that weak ethics laws do not protect politicians should be enough to make them enact some strong state ethic's laws. Republicans refuse to act.
Virginia's current Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Mark Herring, both Democrats who were elected as the scandal developed, have imposed strict gift bans and ethics policies on their own staff, and called for tougher rules than the ethics reform that passed the Republican-controlled legislature this summer. There you go Steve Newman, Kathy Byron and Scott Garrett, get involved and get ethics law cemented in place.
"We have a long way to go to restore the public's trust," Herring said in a statement. "It should be crystal clear that the people of Virginia deserve real ethics reform." and need to pay attention to the candidates they vote for. If there is any bright spot here it is that Bob has a diminished ability to seek higher office, only half of republicans would still vote for him. In Bobs favor all of the religious family values voters will still support him if he just tells them he has been forgiven. That's the magic word, Forgiven.
Here's the bottom line. I don't believe one word of Bob McDonnell's story and the same for Maureen. I'm more insulted by the views from the three local politicians and the Liberty VP and Law School Dean. These folks have no respect for members of the public and in Dean Staver's case no respect for the law as it applies to all beings, not just his friend Bob. Steve Newman, Kathy Byron and Scott Garrett should be voted out of office at the earliest opportunity for their lack desire to do anything. Regent U. and Liberty U. will never be any more than they are now. Both deal in politics to get the most state money possible and to pay the least to local governments and to have total freedom to run their organizations without regulation or restriction, as if they weren't on the public dole. Local Lynchburg elected officials lack the courage to deal with Liberty and the citizens end up paying the part Liberty refuses to pick up but that's a story for later. Liberty bullies local officials. What, You didn't know?
Jan 6th of next year sentencing will take place if that date stands firm. Bob will draw 8 years and Maureen 6 years and a healthy fine will be imposed and never collected. Republicans will turn back flips justifying Governor Bob's behavior, going so far as to make up accomplishments for their fallen team member. The ethics laws will get some adjustment, but not too much, in hopes future criminals can escape punishment.
Oh! The Lynchburg News and Advance might decide to turn out balanced news instead of right wing garbage. Could be as simple as getting an editor.
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
ACVDN
Amherst Democratic News
Is there any question McDonnell was guilty?
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