Category: Corruption and Scandals
-
Meanwhile, in Bucolic Rappahannock County…
As the Newport News/Williamsburg Airport scandal reaches its denouement (see previous post), we also hear of troubles in rustic Rappahannock County, set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains and described by the county website as “a scenic masterpiece made perfect by nature.” From RappNews: Rappahannock County Treasurer Debbie Knick is accusing her own…
-
Axes Fall after People Express Loan Guarantee Blows Up
The executive director of Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport has been placed on administrative leave in the wake of a scandal involving the use of $3.55 million in state funds to help make good on a loan guarantee made to People Express airline. The airport had backed the loan as part of a deal to get…
-
Great Moments in Virginia Governance: Norfolk Edition
From the Virginian-Pilot: An employee of Norfolk Treasurer Anthony Burfoot testified in U.S. District Court Monday that she waived penalties and fees for local developers at the direction of her boss. Prosecutors allege that Dwight Etheridge, Tommy Arney, Ronnie Boone Sr. and others paid Burfoot more than $400,000 in kickbacks and bribes between 2005 and…
-
A New Book Examines the Virginia Way
by Peter Galuszka Over the past several years, Virginia has seen plenty of high drama and low politics. There was the tawdry corruption trial of former governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen. At the University of Virginia, Teresa Sullivan, the school’s popular president, was temporarily ousted in a mysterious coup. Everywhere were…
-
Give It Up, Dudes, There’s Nothing There
by James A. Bacon The Wall Street Journal editorial page has doubled down on the newspaper’s insinuation that Governor Terry McAuliffe’s financial support for state senatorial candidate Jill McCabe was somehow linked to her husband Andrew McCabe’s handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Drawing upon the Journal’s news report the…
-
The McAuliffe-Clinton Email Nothingburger
by James A. Bacon So, what do we make of the front-page revelation in today’s Wall Street Journal that Governor Terry McAuliffe, a long-time ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton, gave $475,000 through his Common Good VA PAC to Jill McCabe, a Democratic candidate in 20015 for a Northern Virginia state senate seat, who ……