"FBI, senators discussed corruption" by Alan Suderman | Associated Press October 10, 2014
RICHMOND — Virginia state senators quietly met with FBI officials for a private briefing on how to not run afoul of federal corruption laws shortly after a jury found former governor Bob McDonnell guilty of selling the influence of his office, lawmakers said this week.
Senate Democratic leader Richard L. Saslaw said Wednesday that leaders from both party caucuses helped organize a meeting with FBI officials to ask questions about federal law shortly after the conviction. Saslaw said that each caucus met separately with the FBI, but he declined to provide details about the Capitol meeting with his caucus because he said it was a closed session.
Saslaw said that he thought the FBI’s presentation was helpful and that his members asked several questions.
‘‘It explained to us what’s kosher and what’s not,’’ he said.
Nice to see the Virginia Senate has self-internalized the values of its masters.
The former Republican governor and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in early September of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from former Star Scientific Inc. chief executive Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting his company’s dietary supplements. Their sentencing is set for Jan 6.
While garnering national attention with its soap opera-like details of marital discord, the McDonnell trial also highlighted the yawning gulf between what a federal jury thinks is acceptable behavior for a public official versus what Virginia law allows.
We have a lot of those in this country, wealth being the most prominent.
In the wake of the conviction, lawmakers of both parties and Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, have promised substantive changes to Virginia’s ethics laws to tighten restrictions.
Related: Hillary Clinton campaign got illicit funds from D.C. scandal figure
McAuliffe was Clinton campaign chairman at time. Think the FBI talked to him?
Senator Chap Petersen, another Democrat, said much of the FBI briefing focused on the differences between state and federal corruption statues.
‘‘Federal law, as we’ve seen, is a lot more open-ended,’’ Petersen said.
Meaning you can get away with a lot more bribery.
Matthew Moran, a spokesman for House Speaker William J. Howell, said House Republican leaders found out about the Senate briefings and thought they were a good idea. Moran said that House GOP leaders have sought a similar briefing but that it has not occurred because of scheduling.
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Related: Virginia, Venezuela, and the VA
Also see: International Media Barely Raises Eyebrow over Assassination of
Pro-Government Legislator in Venezuela
