Former Virginia governor and his wife plead NOT guilty, reject plea deal

Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen are facing a slew of federal corruption charges, but as they appeared in court for the first time today, reports emerged that the Republican politician once rejected a plea deal that would have spared his wife entirely...

The plea agreement Mr McDonnell rejected last year, according to the Washington Post, would have required him to acknowledge only that he filed an incomplete mortgage application when he failed to list money he had borrowed from Mr Williams.

For Mr McDonnell, once considered a possible presidential running mate in 2012, a political future hinges on a complete exoneration...

The McDonnells are a rarity in US politics, a political family without wealth. Their attorney is reportedly preparing a legal strategy that will lean on Mrs McDonnell and lay most of the blame for their interactions with Mr Williams at her feet.

While that may sound callous, it would likely clear both of any criminal wrongdoing, since a governor's wife doesn't technically have the official power to help generous donors or gift-givers...

WaPo: McDonnell rejected plea offer to face one felony, spare wife any charges, avoid trial
Maureen McDonnell relayed to federal prosecutors last summer that she felt responsible for the relationship with a wealthy businessman who had drawn legal scrutiny to Virginia’s first family, and her attorney asked whether the case could be resolved without charges for her husband.

But prosecutors showed no interest, according to people familiar with the conversation. Instead, months later, authorities proposed that then-Gov. Robert F. McDonnell plead guilty to one felony fraud charge that had nothing to do with corruption in office and his wife would avoid charges altogether. The governor rejected the offer, the people with knowledge of the conversations said...

There would be a strong basis for pleading “not guilty”, if the former Governor had been Democrat. Chances are, even with a long and expensive trial, the defense would be so wizardly as to completely nullify and discredit even the most airtight case made by the prosecution, who, behind the scenes, was in on the fix.

But this is a Republican under fire here, and like the period before the French Revolution, it was never so much about the facts of the matter, as it was who could hold the higher cards in the bid and thus more effectively bribe the judiciary.

We have come to this, in which the majority party can effectively criminalize the actions of the members of the minority party, and stand to block any effective remedies in the courts.

The charges keep changing, from malfeasance of office and taking of bribes in exchange for political favor, to conspiracy, and to laundering money. Perhaps, in the course of actual events (not the ones pictured or made up by prosecution), some of this may have occurred. But the bogus charges are made with the same degree of serious intent as any that may have been founded in fact.

The rot has proceeded much further than anyone knows or would be willing to admit.

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