By Peter Galuszka
The latest in the months-long GiftGate soap opera engulfing the governor’s executive mansion has been revealed.
The federal probe of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, his wife Maureen and businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., has been slowed down as prosecutors mull over new evidence McDonnell’s team was legally forced to surrender.
Lawyers for the governor and his wife are expected for a second round of questioning before Sept. 15 now that McDonnell has lost a “secret court battle” to keep some documents confidential under attorney-client privilege according to The Washington Post.
There are more details about Williams’ largesse. It turns out that among the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of favors the executive of Star Scientific gave the McDonnells, their sons and staff were $7,500 in greens fees, golf gear and clothing by Williams. They doffed the fairways at some of Richmond’s elite country clubs, it seems.
That’s not all. Last Labor Day, Williams put the McDonnells up at the $535 plus per night Chatham Bars Inn, a resort on Cape Cod noted for Great Gatsby opulence, for five nights. State police tab for security was $2,967.83, courtesy of the Old Dominion taxpayers. Plus, there was $7,400 for airfare paid for by Star. A McDonnell daughter couldn’t make it, so Williams sent her and a friend on a Florida holiday for that period.
As noted earlier, as the feds tighten the noose, the Bob McDonnell camp is dumping on their good friend Jonnie. Williams and Star, meanwhile, appear to be signing like mocking birds although their account of the gifts given the McDonnells doesn’t always square with the McDonnells’ account.
Speaking of different versions of events Bob and Maureen seem to be telling investigators, separately through their lawyers, that Bob didn’t know about all the stock shares, clothing and the Rolex watch that Williams bought for Maureen who, in turn, gave some of the loot, the watch, for example, to Bob.
Post columnist Robert McCartney suggests that the more the McDonnells can keep Bob away from actually knowing what was going on, the better their chances are that they won’t be indicted. The feds have to show that Bob knew what was going on and did things for Williams. If they can’t pin that on Bob, then they have no case on Maureen either, McCartney believes.
He may be right, but the sheer enormity of the gifts and involvement which only gets bigger suggest that McDonnell still faces very serious problems. And the fact that great buddies Williams and the McDonnells are no longer great buddies, if you believe McDonnell spokesman Rich Galen.
So, we may have an idea what will happen by mid-September. If not, it probably would be after the election. Whatever does happen, it will be a tragedy if there is no serious legislative reform on ethics. It is way too late for a pre-election special session. Come January when the General Assembly meets, it is likely that both parties will want to bury GiftGate, regardless of what happens to Bob and Maureen.
PS: One curious aspect in the Post piece. The Cape Cod trip also involved Dr. Paul Ladenson of Johns Hopkins University who is a Star adviser. A noted researcher, Dr. Ladenson has been researching medical uses of Anatabloc, Star’s star product. Besides being a dietary supplement and an anti-aging salve, Anatabloc may have some application with treating Alzheimer’s and other diseases, or so the spin goes. Ladenson’s involvement with Star has been controversial because at times the researcher has worked directly for Star which then allegedly used him to claim that research was backed by John Hopkins, which the school has vigorously denied.
One wonders what Dr. Ladenson was doing at the Chatham Bars Inn with the McDonnells. Are they good friends? Were they discussing further promoting Anatabloc? Why won’t McDonnell say?
It is yet another example of the governor’s deliberate vagueness and lack of transparency that is ruining his reputation, regardless of what the feds do.
