Robertson: Bob McDonnell Was Seduced By A Woman, Just Like Adam Was

One of Pat Robertson's "charities" had offered to employ McDonnell in lieu of a prison sentence.

McDonnell Gets Two Years In Prison

Former GOP Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison today after being convicted on eleven counts of corruption late last year.

United States District Court Judge James R. Spencer announced his ruling just shy of 3 pm local time early on Tuesday, four months and two days after a jury there found Mr McDonnell and his wife guilty of public corruption charges. The Twitter account for the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia confirmed the ruling shortly after. Going into court on Tuesday, McDonnell faced a maximum sentence of 12 years. Judge Spencer unexpectedly reduced the outcome range during the hearing, however, and said the governor would only face upwards of eight years behind bars since he did not obstruct justice or accept more than a certain amount of bribes.

More from USA Today:

Included among the nearly 1,000 pages of documents filed by McDonnell's legal team are 443 letters from family, friends and former colleagues urging the judge to give the former governor a lenient sentence. Each of McDonnell's five children — he has three daughters and twin sons — wrote letters on their father's behalf. Some children told the judge that their mother made bad decisions and solicited money and gifts behind their father's back and without his knowledge. McDonnell once was considered a possible running mate for 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. McDonnell delivered the 2010 Republican response to the State of the Union Address and became chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2011.

McDonnell's estranged wife, who shocked onlookers when she appeared in the courtroom for today's hearing, will be sentenced next month.

Pat Robertson Tries To Keep Former VA Gov. Bob McDonnell Out Of Prison

Via the Associated Press:

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell should perform community service rather than serve prison time for his federal corruption convictions, an international relief organization said Tuesday. Operation Blessing International said it offered McDonnell jobs heading its hunger relief program in Appalachia or working at its orphanage and fish farm in Haiti if U.S. District Judge James Spencer agrees to spare McDonnell prison time.

"As with his volunteering during Hurricane Katrina, Bob has shown an authentic willingness to serve others no matter how difficult the task," group president Bill Horan said in a statement. "We believe that we can leverage his energy and expertise to better serve those in need."

Operation Blessing spokesman Chris Roslan said the organization collaborated with defense attorneys ahead of Tuesday's deadline for lawyers to file sentencing recommendations. Virginia Beach-based Operation Blessing was founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. McDonnell is a graduate of Robertson's Regent University law school.

McDonnell is due for sentencing early next month. Operation Blessing, of course, has long been saddled with accusations of fraudulent practices.

Liberty University Fires Bob McDonnell

Even Liberty University has its limits.

Ex-Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has lost his teaching gig at Liberty University. The Christian college announced on Friday they had ditched the disgraced politician after he was convicted on multiple federal corruption charges. Liberty President Jerry Falwell had called the former governor “a longtime friend of the university” in April, when McDonnell was appointed a visiting professor in government. McDonnell and his estranged wife Maureen were found guilty of public corruption on September 4. A jury found the couple accepted gifts and loans from former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for using the governor’s office to promote his products. The McDonnells will be sentenced in January and could face 20 years in prison.

VIRGINIA: Former Gov. Bob McDonnell And Wife Found Guilty Of Corruption

Former Virginia GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife have been found guilty on multiple counts of corruption, bribery, and conspiracy.

After three days of deliberations, the seven men and five women who heard weeks of gripping testimony about the McDonnells’ alleged misdeeds acquitted the couple of several charges pending against them--but nevertheless found that they lent the prestige of the governor’s office to Jonnie R. Williams Sr. in a nefarious exchange for his largesse. The verdict means that Robert McDonnell, who was already the first governor in Virginia history to be charged with a crime, now he holds an even more unwanted distinction: the first ever to be convicted of one. He and his wife face decades in federal prison, though their actual sentence will probably fall well short of that. The former governor was convicted of 11 corruption-related counts pending against him, though acquitted of lying on loan documents. The former first lady was convicted of eight corruption-related charges, along with obstruction of justice. Maureen McDonnell was acquitted of lying on a loan document.

Background from CBS News: 

The McDonnells were indicted in January and charged with accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from Jonnie Williams, the CEO of Star Scientific Inc., in exchange for promoting Williams' anti-inflammatory vitamin supplement called Anatabloc. The jury reached the verdict after three days of deliberations. During the five-week trial, prosecutors sought to prove that that Bob McDonnell not only knew how much money Williams had lavished on the first family, but that he sought to convince state officials to conduct research that would have helped Williams' business. The evidence prosecutors saw as most damaging was a pair of emails, sent six minutes part, in which Bob McDonnell wrote to Williams asking about documents that would have finalized a $50,000 loan, and then shortly after asked an aide to "see me about anatabloc issues" at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia.

Last week it was learned that McDonnell has left his wife and is now living with a Catholic priest who was once convicted for having sex with another man in the parking lot of a park. In one of his first acts after taking office, McDonnell stripped LGBT people from a statewide anti-discrimination executive order, declaring that there is no evidence of such discrimination.

VIRGINIA: Disgraced Former Gov. Bob McDonnell Is Now Living With Catholic Priest Busted For Public Gay Sex

Last week former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell revealed during his corruption trial that he has left his wife and is now living with a Catholic priest named Wayne Ball, seen above. Father Ball, as it turns out, was once busted for having gay sex in the parking lot of a park. Here's a story about the 2010 arrest:

The Rev. Wayne L. Ball, a Norfolk priest who pleaded guilty late last year to a misdemeanor sex offense, has been reassigned to St. John's Catholic Church in Highland Springs, according to The Catholic Virginian, a biweekly diocesan newspaper. The move is effective June 2. Ball, 42, has served as pastor of Norfolk's Holy Trinity Catholic Church since 2000. The current pastor at St. John's, the Rev. David V. McGuire, will replace Ball at Holy Trinity. In December, Ball pleaded guilty in Norfolk General District Court to the misdemeanor charge of frequenting a bawdy place. Norfolk police arrested Ball and a 41-year-old Richmond man on the night before Thanksgiving in a parked car in a Norfolk park. The judge continued Ball's case until July 8 and will dismiss the charge if the priest has no further criminal problems and completes 80 hours of community service by June 3. The man in the car with Ball received a similar deal.

McDonnell has testified that his marriage was a "sham" and therefore he could not have colluded with his wife in taking all those bribes. Shortly after he took office, McDonnell stripped LGBT people from a statewide anti-discrimination executive order, declaring that there is no evidence of such discrimination. (Tipped by JMG reader Smith)

VIRGINIA: Marriage Of Anti-Gay GOP Former Gov. Bob McDonnell Was A Sham

Sanctity of marriage defender and GOP former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is being tried for corruption and according to testimony presented yesterday by his lawyers, his own marriage was a sham because his wife was in love with the man accused of bribing them. And since their marriage was in shambles, say their lawyers, they could not have colluded in the scheme.

The McDonnells are charged in a 14-count indictment with accepting more than $165,000 in loans, designer clothes, vacations and a Rolex watch from Jonnie Williams, the CEO of dietary supplements maker Star Scientific. If convicted, they could face decades in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber said during opening statements that McDonnell and his wife betrayed the public’s trust by lining their pockets with “secret gifts and cash.” McDonnell, a once-rising star in the Republican party who left office in January, had a duty “not to sell the power and influence of his office to the highest bidder,” Aber said. Attorneys for the McDonnells told jurors the governor did what any of his predecessors would do for a Virginia-based company. They questioned Williams’ character and said the couple couldn’t have been scheming together because their marriage was falling apart. Maureen McDonnell’s lawyer, William A. Burck, said the former first lady was “duped” by Williams into thinking he cared for her and she and her husband were pretending to be a happy couple. “They were barely on speaking terms,” Burck said.

McDonnell is expected to testify in his own defense and reportedly will read an email in which he begged his wife to "work things out" with him.

VIRGINIA: Former Gov. Bob McDonnell & Wife Charged With Accepting Illegal Gifts

Anti-gay GOP former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who routinely opposed LGBT rights in his state, was today charged with accepting illegal gifts from a local businessman.

McDonnell's wife was also charged. Authorities alleged that for nearly two years, the McDonnells hit up executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. again and again, lodging near constant requests for large loans, clothes, trips, golf accessories and private plane rides. In exchange, authorities allege, the McDonnells worked in concert to lend the prestige of the governorship to Williams’ struggling company, a small former cigarette manufacturer that now sells dietary supplements. They said the first couple arranged access for the CEO to top state officials, allowed the historic governor’s mansion to be used for a launch party for his company’s new non-FDA approved pill and attended events designed to boost the company’s prestige with university scientists who might research the company’s product.

The McDonnells face 14 felony counts including wire fraud and lying to a financial institution. Mrs. McDonnell is additionally charged with obstruction of justice. The former governor has issued a statement.

“My fellow Virginians, earlier today federal prosecutors notified my attorneys that they have filed criminal charges against me and my wife Maureen, alleging that we violated federal law by accepting gifts and loans from Jonnie Williams, the former CEO of Star Scientific,” he said. “I deeply regret accepting legal gifts and loans from Mr. Williams, all of which have been repaid with interest, and I have apologized for my poor judgment for which I take full responsibility. However, I repeat emphatically that I did nothing illegal for Mr. Williams in exchange for what I believed was his personal generosity and friendship.”

Cuccinelli Vs McDonnell

Today's installment of GOP infighting comes out of Virginia, where anti-gay Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Ken Cuccinelli has demanded a special legislative session on political ethics, something that scandal-plagued and anti-gay Gov. Bob McDonnell (shockingly) does not want.

With McDonnell (R) embroiled in a gifts scandal, the Republican candidate to succeed him said Virginia cannot wait until the legislature reconvenes in January to tighten the state’s lax disclosure requirements. “Trust is something that is easy to lose and hard to recover,” Cuccinelli said in an interview with The Washington Post. “I think the longer we let this go, the more difficult it is for Virginians to achieve the level of faith in their government that I think they’re accustomed to. And I think that’s something we can achieve if we move quickly.” Cuccinelli’s chief deputy told the governor in a face-to-face meeting Monday that the attorney general would publicly urge him to call the special session. After the meeting, a spokesman for the governor said he sees no need for it. Cuccinelli’s move puts more space between the attorney general, who has been touched by the scandal, and the governor, who has been consumed by it.

Cuccinelli, who last month launched a website in support of his campaign to reinstate anti-sodomy laws, presently trails former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe by several points in polls for the governor's race.

RELATED: Speaking of ethics, there have been many calls for Cuccinelli to resign as other state attorneys general have historically done once they announced their candidacy for governor. He has refused even though he holds a large stock interest in a company currently suing the state over a tax dispute.  Cucinelli has a long and vile history of blocking LGBT rights in Virginia, including supporting a ban on gay adoptions. In 2011 he declared that God had personally placed him in office to fight President Obama.

Bob McDonnell: I'm Not Resigning

"I'm not going anywhere. I love this job. I think there were a couple of very bad rumors about that. I have been able to get some major problems solved for our citizens. Virginia is in better shape that most states. Democrats and Republicans are working together well in our state. I've tried to create that climate for bipartisan cooperation. I think that's what people appreciate and expect out of government, and that's what we're are going to try to do in these last five months, so there's been no consideration of that." - Anti-gay GOP Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who yesterday apologized for accepting $124K in gifts and loans from a backer.  McDonnell may yet face criminal charges from state and federal investigations.

RELATED: Virginia is the only state that does not permit governors to run for successive terms, but they are allowed to run again after having left office. Virulently anti-gay Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is currently trailing slightly behind former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe in the polls to succeed McDonnell in November.

VIRGINIA: Gov. Bob McDonnell Apologizes For Taking $124K In Gifts & Loans

Today anti-gay Virginia GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell finally apologized for a long-running scandal. The Washington Post editorializes:

Does Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell get it or not? On Tuesday, Mr. McDonnell (R) apologized “for the embarrassment certain members of my family and I brought upon my beloved Virginia and her citizens.” And, in an action that spoke much louder than those somewhat parsimonious words, he said he had repaid more than $124,000 to the businessman who plied him and his family with gifts, loans and cash.

The repayment-with-interest to the businessman, Jonnie R. Williams Sr., was an implicit admission that governors should not be in the business of accepting handouts or loans from individuals who are seeking favorable treatment from the state, as Mr. Williams was. But the governor, perhaps on the advice of counsel, offered no explanation and made no explicit acknowledgement of wrongdoing, improper conduct or even bad judgment. Nor did he repay Williams for “gifts” — a Rolex, a shopping spree at Bergdorf Goodman, catering for his daughter’s wedding — that were every bit as ethically egregious as the loans and should be every bit as embarrassing to Mr. McDonnell.

Politico weighs in:

The statement represents a new, contrite tack for McDonnell, who as recently as this month had more aggressively defended his conduct. “Thirty-seven years — no one’s raised questions about my integrity or my character,” he said in a local TV interview. Unmentioned in the statement were gifts from Williams that have also drawn scrutiny, which reportedly included a $15,000 New York shopping trip for the governor’s wife; a $6,500 Rolex that McDonnell said his wife gave him; and thousands of dollars related to the McDonnells’ daughters’ weddings. Rich Galen, the communications adviser for the private legal team aiding McDonnell on Star Scientific matters, would not say when or how the governor decided to take today’s steps. Nor would he comment on whether the governor plans to address the gifts.

State and federal investigations into McDonnell's finances continue and it remains possible that criminal charges may eventually come.  Multiple news sources noted today that McDonnell's apology was pushed out of the headlines by the latest Weiner-gate episode.

VA Repeals One-Per-Month Gun Law

Virginia used to restrict residents to buying one handgun per month. But not anymore, because a busy family needs a different gun every day of the week.

Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a bill Tuesday to overturn Virginia's landmark one-handgun-a-month law, a restriction put on the books in the early 1990s when gun trafficking was seen as a problem along the East Coast. The governor's action came days after he spoke by phone with some family members of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings, who on Tuesday expressed disappointment with the governor's decision. "Governor McDonnell saw the wisdom of this law as a legislator. In our conversation with him on Saturday, he didn't offer a single rational explanation for getting rid of it," said Lori Haas, mother of Emily Haas, who was injured in the April 16, 2007, massacre, when student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students and teachers. "When gun dealers can sell more guns without limits, they get the cold, hard cash and we get more dead bodies."

PhoboQuotable - VA Gov. Bob McDonnell

"I don’t think we ought to force Catholic Charities to make that part of their policy or other similar situated groups. Many of our adoption agencies are faith-based groups that ought to be able to establish what their own policies are. Current regulations that say you can’t discriminate on the basis of race, color or national origin I think are proper. I think previous efforts to expand that to a number of other classes are going to have very strict scrutiny to make sure that we don’t inhibit the very fine work some faith-based organizations are doing." - Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, declaring his opposition to a proposed regulation banning discrimination against adoptive gay parents.

NOM and other anti-gay hate groups have branded the proposed regulation as stipulating "mandatory gay adoption." Gay people are not presently barred from adopting children in Virginia, but McDonnell appears to be in favor of that.

RELATED: Shortly after he took office in 2010, McDonnell stripped LGBT people from a statewide anti-discrimination executive order.

Mississippi Governor: Controversy About Confederate History Month Ain't Diddly

Obama Rips VA Gov. McDonnell Over Confederate History Month Debacle

Sons Of The Confederacy: Slavery Was Not A Cause Of The Civil War

VA Gov. Bob McDonnell Apologizes Over Confederate History Recognition

After enduring blistering national criticism for removing language about slavery from his declaration recognizing Confederate History Month, yesterday Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell issued an apology and amended the language in the declaration.

A day earlier, McDonnell said he left out any reference to slavery in the original seven-paragraph proclamation because he wanted to include issues he thought were most "significant" to Virginia. He also said the document was designed to promote tourism in the state, which next year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. However, Wednesday afternoon the governor issued a mea culpa for the document's exclusion of slavery. "The proclamation issued by this Office designating April as Confederate History Month contained a major omission," McDonnell said in a statement. "The failure to include any reference to slavery was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed."

McDonnell's amended declaration adds the sentence: "Slavery was an evil and inhumane practice that deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights and all Virginians are thankful for its permanent eradication from our borders."

VA Gov. Bob McDonnell Recognizes Confederate History Month

VA Gov. Bob McDonnell has issued an order recognizing April as Confederate History Month, saying that it's important "to understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War." McDonnell's most recent order of this type recognized Christian Heritage Week.

April’s Confederate History Month recognition is at least the fourth proclamation McDonnell has issued since his inauguration in January, according to the governor’s Web site. The previous proclamation recognized March 7-13, 2010 as Christian Heritage Week and quoted Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry, George Mason citing religion or Jesus in comments. “These, and many other truly great men and women of America, giants in the structuring of American history, were statesmen of the highest caliber and integrity who did not hesitate to express their religious convictions, principles and faith,“ it states, before calling upon a special designation for the week.

Other states that recognize Confederate History Month: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. McDonnell made today's announcement in advance of next week's 149th anniversary of Virginia's secession from the Union.

VA Gov. Bob McDonnell: We Don't Need LGBT Rights Because There Is No Discrimination Against Gays

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says he sees no need to re-implement his predecessor's ban on discrimination against LGBT state employees. Because there's no evidence that it happens.

Gov. Bob McDonnell said today that Virginia does not need to write protections for gays and lesbians into state statute because he has not seen evidence of discrimination in the state workforce. Breaking with the practice of his Democratic predecessors, McDonnell did not include sexual orientation in an executive order he issued barring discrimination in the state workforce shortly after taking office. He argued that he could not include protections for gays without authority from the General Assembly, which has repeatedly declined to adopt a law on the issue. But in past interviews, McDonnell has never been clear about whether he supported the General Assembly taking action. He told Post columnist Bob McCartney that he might, in fact, sign such a law if passed. But asked today on the "Ask the Governor" program at Richmond's WRVA radio whether he would sign such legislation, he said, "I don't know that we need it based on the numbers that I've seen." He added: "There really isn't any rampant discrimination on any basis in Virginia. If you're going to have a law, it needs to actually address a real problem."

Stand by for the governor's office to be inundated with examples of LGBT state employees who have been discriminated against.

UPDATE: Here's McDonnell discussing his remarks on wingnut radio.

(Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Virginia Is For Bigots

William and Mary college students Casey and Cassie break down the anti-gay actions of Attorney Genernal Ken Cuchinelli and Gov. Bob McDonnell. The two have been part of a spring break action by Virginia students protesting the removal of LGBT protections at Virginia's public universities.

(Tipped by JMG reader Chris)