Virginia jury finds McDonnells guilty

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (center) is mobbed by media as he gets into a car with his son, Bobby (right), after he and his wife, former first lady Maureen McDonnell, were convicted on multiple counts of corruption at federal court in Richmond, Va., on Thursday.
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (center) is mobbed by media as he gets into a car with his son, Bobby (right), after he and his wife, former first lady Maureen McDonnell, were convicted on multiple counts of corruption at federal court in Richmond, Va., on Thursday.

RICHMOND, Va. -- Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife were convicted of multiple charges Thursday after a jury determined they took bribes to promote a dietary supplement.

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 the "guilty" verdicts.

Widely considered a possible Republican running mate for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential campaign, Bob McDonnell and his wife now face up to 30 years in prison on most counts, including conspiracy, fraud and bribery. Sentencing was set for Jan. 6, 2015.

The couple's defense strategy depended in large part on persuading jurors that their marriage itself was a fraud and that they couldn't to speak to each other, let alone conspire to accept bribes. They left the courtroom separately.

Bob McDonnell was ashen as he was mobbed by TV cameras before climbing into a waiting blue Mercedes.

"All I can say is that my trust remains in the Lord," he said quietly.

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.

Jurors acquitted them of bank fraud on loan applications that failed to mention the money Williams lent them.

Testifying in his own defense, Bob McDonnell insisted that he provided nothing more than routine political courtesies to the former chief executive officer 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.

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. Maureen McDonnell did not take the stand.

Bob McDonnell's attorney, Henry Asbill, said he will appeal. Maureen McDonnell's attorney, William Burck, declined to comment.

Asbill said he was shocked and disappointed. He complained that prosecutors sought to criminalize routine political behavior, and said, "I have no idea what the jury deliberated about."

The jurors all declined to speak to reporters as they left the courthouse through a back door.

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 McDonnell, $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.

As the gifts rolled in, the McDonnells appeared at promotional events and 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.

Defense lawyers argued that none of those were favors or 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.

If she's not a public official and the couple weren't speaking, there was no conspiracy, the lawyers said.

Witnesses -- including the former governor -- said Maureen McDonnell despised being first lady, and was prone to such angry outbursts that the mansion staff threatened a mass resignation. Bob McDonnell said he began working unnecessarily late, just to avoid her anger.

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.

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, and McDonnell repeatedly stressed that he did nothing to violate them.

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 ethics laws.

"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."

Information for this article was contributed by Alan Suderman, Steve Szkotak and Michael Felberbaum of The Associated Press.

A Section on 09/05/2014

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