“Defense attorneys for a Chicago businessman accused of illegal lobbying want to bring out at his trial next week allegations that then-Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) offered to try to get U.S. military contracts for a business in return for a job as a $250,000-a-year financial consultant after he left office,” the Chicago Sun Times reports.
South Carolina Speaker Indicted
South Carolina Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell (R) has been indicted “on charges of using campaign funds for personal expenses, filing false campaign disclosure reports and misconduct in office,” The State reports.
“It was the first time in memory, and maybe in history, that a sitting House Speaker has been indicted.”
Nagin to Report to Prison
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin “was due to report to federal prison on Monday to begin serving a 10-year sentence for corruption during the years when the city was struggling to recover from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina,” Reuters reports.
Maureen McDonnell Predicted Jail
Six months before Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and his wife Maureen were charged with public corruption, the Washington Post reports the first lady made a stark prediction to her manicurist: “Her husband would go to jail, she said, and it would all be her fault.”
“In December, prosecutors offered to let the former governor plead guilty to just one count of lying to a bank. Maureen McDonnell would avoid charges entirely. He flatly declined, refusing to plead guilty to a crime he has said he did not commit… Maureen McDonnell has told friends and supporters that he declined the deal without consulting her.”
McDonnell Conviction Could Spur More Corruption Cases
“The prosecution of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell could have far-reaching effects on federal public-corruption cases — making it easier for prosecutors to bring charges against those accused of abusing their official powers,” the Washington Post reports.
Flashback Quote of the Day
“Just reading books. I’ve got 25 books on my night stand. Actually 26… I got a bunch of them there I’d like to read. But that, honestly, a little R and R and a lot of pleasure reading is what I’d like to do.”
— Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), quoted by the New York Times last year, on what he wanted to do once leaving office.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“All I can say is my trust belongs in the Lord.”
— Former Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), quoted by the Washington Post, leaving the courthouse after being convicted on 11 corruption charges.
McDonnell Found Guilty of Corruption
Bob McDonnell (R) is the first Virginia governor convicted of a felony, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
A federal jury convicted the former governor on 11 of 13 counts and his wife, Maureen, on nine of 13 counts. Both “sobbed openly, but quietly as the verdicts were read.”
The Washington Post notes both McDonnells face “decades in federal prison, though their actual sentence will probably fall well short of that.”
Sentencing is scheduled for January 6.
Rowland Heads to Trial on Conspiracy Charges
Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland (R) “is due in court on Wednesday for the start of his trial on charges of violating U.S. campaign finance laws by seeking backroom consulting jobs on two Republican congressional campaigns,” Reuters reports.
Hartford Courant: “Few criminal trials promise better plot lines than John Rowland’s latest encounter with federal prosecutors, scheduled to begin Wednesday barring another last-minute surprise. Rowland is a politically gifted — but, in the government’s view, entirely incorrigible — three-term former Republican governor. He is accused, for the second time since he was forced to resign from office in 2004, of subverting the political process for personal gain.”
Grimm’s Trial to Start After Election
A federal judge set a December 1 trial date for Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) “on charges of tax evasion and hiring undocumented workers, rejecting arguments from the Staten Island Republican that jurors might be prejudiced by negative election ads,” Newsday reports.
Roll Call: “Democrats had hoped Grimm’s trial would begin in October, leading to weeks of negative press in the run up to the midterms. But Grimm’s legal troubles still imperil his re-election hopes.”
Lawyers Present Closing Arguments in McDonnell Trial
“After weeks of sometimes deeply personal testimony, tedious and tawdry exhibits and scores of witnesses, jurors in the corruption trial of former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, today will hear closing arguments,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
McDonnell Apologizes for Taking Gifts and Money
New York Times: “Five days of grueling, often contentious testimony by Bob McDonnell, the former Virginia governor accused of corruption, ended Tuesday with an apology from Mr. McDonnell for accepting so many gifts and so much money, but an emphatic denial that he had conspired with his wife to sell his office.”
“The federal trial, already 22 days long, could go to the jury as early as Wednesday.”
Politicians Aren’t More Corrupt Than Usual
FiveThirtyEight: “According to Gallup, Americans think that political corruption has become more widespread over the past several years. And yet the best data we have on political corruption doesn’t bear that out. The Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department reports statistics on corruption cases to Congress every year, and although it might be a stretch to say that the country has gotten less corrupt over time, the problem certainly hasn’t grown.”
McDonnell Corruption Trial Turns Into a Soap Opera
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) “laid bare his troubled marriage during a remarkable day of testimony that revealed he and his wife are living separately for the trial and he is staying in his parish priest’s rectory,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
“Anchoring McDonnell’s account of his marital drama was an emotional email the former governor sent his wife, Maureen, in September 2011. It conveys his love but deep heartache over a shattered marriage that worsened over time.”
Daily Beast: The five weirdest revelations of the McDonnell trial
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“At some point, I’m entitled to be normal.”
— Former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R), quoted by the Washington Post, on why he drove Jonnie R. Williams Sr.’s Ferrari.
Rivera Named Co-Conspirator in Campaign Finance Case
Former Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) “was officially named as a co-conspirator Tuesday in federal court when his friend and confederate pleaded guilty to criminal campaign-finance violations,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.
“That defendant, Ana Alliegro, didn’t name Rivera — that was done by a federal prosecutor at the urging of a judge who wanted to know the identity of a man previously identified only as a co-conspirator.”
Chinese Officials Dump Luxury Homes
Wall Street Journal: “China’s corruption crackdown has already taken a bite out of the hospitality sector in China with its ban on lavish banquets and is now starting to make waves in another corner of the economy, as officials afraid of government scrutiny are dumping apartments.”
“The dumping of properties is the latest iteration of fear that has spread through the Chinese government at all levels as President Xi Jinping’s anticorruption campaign rolls on. Already, government officials have toned down lavish banquets, gift-giving and travel.”
McDonnell Took $177K in Cash and Gifts
“After hundreds of exhibits and 45 witnesses over the past three weeks, prosecutors rested their corruption case against former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
“In a gripping display Thursday, prosecutors directed a parade of designer dresses, pumps and handbags across the courtroom, a series of expensive gifts from Williams that the McDonnells returned after an investigation into the largesse was made public… FBI agent David Hulser, the government’s last witness, testified Thursday that Williams’ spending on the McDonnells — including two loans for $50,000 and a third for $20,000 — topped $177,000.”
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