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Bob McDonnell: May 2010

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Bob McDonnell: September 2010 »

Ken Cuccinelli

Pressure Growing On Cuccinelli To Return Apparent Scamster's Dough

Zachary Roth | May 21, 2010, 6:08PM


VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

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.

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Topics: Bob McDonnell, Bobby Thompson, Ken Cuccinelli, U.S. Navy Veterans Association

Ken Cuccinelli

Cuccinelli Won't Give Up Money From Founder Of Alleged Scam Charity -- Also Not Eager To Investigate

Zachary Roth | May 18, 2010, 11:08AM


VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Ken Cuccinelli says he has no plans to return contributions from a major backer whose veterans' charity is being probed in several states after a lengthy investigative report made it out to be a scam. The Virginia attorney general's office also doesn't sound eager to launch its own investigation of the charity.

Gov. Bob McDonnell's office said yesterday that it would donate to a legitimate veterans' charity the $5000 that McDonnell received last year from U.S. Navy Veterans Association founder Bobby Thompson. That move came in response to a series of stories in the St. Petersburg Times, which raised numerous red flags about USNVA, which claims to offer aid to navy veterans and raises money through phone solicitations. The stories revealed among other things that 84 of the group's 85 listed officers -- everyone but Thompson -- could not be located, and that USNVA refused to offer any documentation of its finances. The group is now being investigated by authorities in New Mexico, Missouri, and Florida, where it's based. Giving up the money is "the right thing to do," according to a McDonnell spokeswoman.

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Topics: Bob McDonnell, Bobby Thompson, Fundraising, Global Warming, Ken Cuccinelli, U.S. Navy Veterans Association

Ken Cuccinelli

Top Cuccinelli Contributor's Mysterious 'Charity' Under Scrutiny

Zachary Roth | May 17, 2010, 12:07PM


Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

A major backer of Ken Cuccinelli is being probed in several states for running a charity that a lengthy newspaper investigation suggests may be an elaborate and long-running fraud.

There's no evidence that Cuccinelli, now the attorney general of Virginia, was aware there was anything untoward about Bobby Thompson or his charity, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), which says it offers assistance to navy veterans. Still, the news has forced the ambitious AG -- whose reputation for rectitude is a key part of his appeal to conservatives -- to answer some awkward questions. And the full story of what happened in Virginia suggests how easily one state government may have been taken in by a noble-sounding cause and a some well-timed campaign contributions.

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Topics: Bob McDonnell, Bobby Thompson, Fundraising, Ken Cuccinelli, U.S. Navy Veterans Association

Fred Malek

VA Gov Taps Nixon's 'Jew Counter' To Help Shrink State Gov't

Ben Frumin | May 10, 2010, 12:40PM


Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Frederic Malek (inset)

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) needed someone to reform his state's government and shrink its budget. So who's he turning to? Fred Malek: right-wing insider and former President Richard Nixon's "Jew counter."

On Friday, McDonnell released a list of 31 names -- the members of his "Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring," which, according to the Washington Post, "will consider closing some of the state's 130 agencies" and will "consider selling the state's 350 liquor stores."

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Topics: Bob McDonnell, Fred Malek, Virginia

Bob McDonnell

McDonnell Mum On Cuccinelli's Climate Science 'Witch Hunt'

Zachary Roth | May 6, 2010, 2:12PM


Virginia Att. Gov. Ken Cuccinelli and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell

Since news broke that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is conducting a fraud investigation into the work of a former UVA climate scientist who was caught up in the "Climate-Gate" controversy, reactions have been pouring in -- with even some climate skeptics slamming the probe as a threat to academic freedom.

But one interested observer has been noticeably mum: Governor Bob McDonnell.

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Topics: Bob McDonnell, Climate-Gate, Gay Rights, Global Warming, Health Care Reform, Ken Cuccinelli, Michael Mann

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