Virginia Democrats are continuing to try to tie the scandal surrounding Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell’s ties to Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams to Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli.
Cuccinelli announced on Wednesday that he will not return the gifts he received in response to public concerns about his own conflict of interest scandal.
A press release from the Democratic Party of Virginia on Thursday pressed Cuccinelli on the issue:
Cuccinelli’s decision to accept free gifts and trips from Williams (who was suing Virginia in an effort to avoid paying $1.7 million) and subsequent refusal to follow McDonnell’s lead and return the gifts after a scandal ensued raises the following question about the Attorney General’s ethics approach (such as it is):
Does Ken Cuccinelli even think what he did was wrong?
Does he think it was wrong to accept $18,000 in gifts and trips from a CEO whose company sued Virginia in an effort to avoid paying state taxes?
Does he think it was wrong to let Williams’ lawsuit sit in his office for nearly two years, all the while the CEO was showering him with free gifts and trips?
Does he think it was wrong to “forget” to disclose many of those gifts as is required by Virginia law, even though he personally solicited some of them?
Does he think it was wrong to “forget” to disclose thousands in Star Scientific stock as required by Virginia law, including some stock that he bought after he was supposed to be opposing Star Scientific’s lawsuit aimed at avoiding paying state taxes?
Does he think it’s wrong that Virginians pay him $150,000 a year to serve as Attorney General but they’re now on the hook for at least another $53,000 because his conflicts made him unable to represent the Governor in a case involving Star Scientific and Jonnie Williams?
Ken Cuccinelli’s unethical behavior has damaged Virginia’s reputation for clean government and cost taxpayers money. If he is even remotely interested in cleaning up the mess his scandal created he will return the gifts and apologize for his role in one of the worst ethics scandals in Virginia history.
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