Former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry released a statement today responding to the reports that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office has been actively strategizing with lawyers for two energy companies in a lawsuit to avoid paying Virginia landowners millions in mining royalties.
“In my opinion, the Attorney General should have never accepted $85,000 in contributions from the energy companies because of the potential of conflict of interest or the appearance of the same. I ran for a second term as Attorney General and raised a good deal of money. We had systems in the office for ensuring that no contributor had business before the Office and I’m sure there were occasions where we declined contributions. It was and is vitally important that the Attorney General and the Office of the Attorney General serve the law, and only the law, within the boundaries of the Mission of the Office. I continue to be astonished at the number of occasions in which the Office has been used by this Attorney General in pursuit of his own personal mission.
“Speaking of boundaries, the conduct of the Assistant Attorney General in this case was totally inappropriate and wrong. I have to wonder who or what motivated her to do what she did to assist the energy companies. Where did she get her authorization to intervene in the lawsuit? During my tenure no such involvement in the suit would have been undertaken unless I was advised and gave the go ahead –which I would never have done in this instance, campaign contribution or not. Who in the Office monitored the case at every step after suit was filed and who authorized the Assistant Attorney General to give strategic advice to the energy companies? Either there was no authority or no supervision. Either option is just unacceptable.”
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