Has Ken Cuccinelli miscalculated by standing on principle — what principle that is, we’re not too sure — in refusing to give up donations from an apparent scam artist?
To recap: The second largest individual contributor to Cuccinelli’s campaign for Virginia attorney general last year was Bobby Thompson, a Florida man who is the founder of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, and who donated $55,500 to Cuccinelli.
A lengthy investigative report in the St. Petersburg Times raised numerous red flags about USNVA. For example, the paper could not confirm the existence of 84 out of 85 listed officers for the group. The only one they could find was Thompson, who moved out of his Tampa bungalow, leaving no forwarding address, soon after being questioned contacted by reporters. The group is now under investigation in three states.
Governor Bob McDonnell has said he’ll donate the $5000 he got from Thompson to a legitimate veterans’ charity. But Cuccinelli has refused, with his camp saying he’ll give up the money if Thompson is convicted of a crime.
In an editorial today, the Roanoke Times called on Cuccinelli to do the right thing. State Democrats yesterday said the same, and also urged him to investigate Thompson and his group in Virginia.
One Democratic legislator, Rep. Ward Armstrong, contrasted the AG’s lack of action in this case to his eagerness to probe the work of a climate scientist in an investigation that has been denounced as a “witch hunt”. “He can waste taxpayer dollars going after professors at our public colleges and universities … but yet we can’t take a look at Mr. Thompson and his group.” Armstrong said. “You have to wonder if there’s a connection there with the $50,000 contribution.”
But Camp Cuccinelli is sticking to its guns. “To our knowledge, no charges have been brought against this man,” a spokesman said yesterday. “He has only been tried in the media. As we have said before, if the law finds him guilty, and that money was not his to give, we will certainly, unequivocally, donate that money to charity. Our position isn’t going to change just because the DPV is trying to use this situation for political gain.”
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