by James A. Bacon
The full dimensions of the McDonnell family tragedy came into clearer focus yesterday as attorneys representing Maureen and Bob McDonnell launched the defense phase of the corruption trial… by throwing Maureen under the bus. Defense witness Janet Kelly, Secretary of the Commonwealth in the McDonnell administration, described as “diva-ish” and so difficult with work under that her staff threatened to quit en mass.
Maureen’s behavior was so out of control that those in the governor’s inner circle wonder if she suffered from a mental illness. The picture painted by Kelly was of a woman who was isolated, miserable and unable to grow into the job. Kelly’s relationship with Maureen had deteriorated to the point she could not work with her even before Bob took office, but she did evince some sympathy for the first lady. Breaking down in tears at one point, she said she did not want to “pile on.” As the Washington Post summarized her testimony:
Maureen McDonnell repeatedly told her that being first lady was not something she had wanted. She was uncomfortable with public speaking and, in her first year in the mansion, lost both her parents and sent her youngest children to college — all while essentially losing her husband to his job.
“She would say, ‘I didn’t sign up for this. This isn’t what I wanted,’ ” Kelly testified. “It was a lot for her.”
Perhaps most germane to our understanding of the relationship between the former governor and his wife — defense attorneys said the marriage was in such bad shape that the two could not have conspired to swap gifts for favors with Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Wiliams Sr. — Kelly testified that the displays of affection in public between Bob and Maureen hid a deeper alienation. In private settings, she would rage at him.
Bacon’s bottom line: More pieces are falling into place. Bob McDonnell was an ambitious man. What he wanted out of life — political fame and success — wasn’t what Maureen wanted. Family finances were a mess before the family entered the governor’s mansion, made worse by extensive borrowing during the gubernatorial campaign. Maureen was ill equipped to fill the role of first lady; she didn’t ask for the job but she was stuck with it. Unable to handle the stress of the position on top of the deteriorating family finances, she flew into rages, alienated many of the people around her, including her husband, which made her situation even worse. She gravitated to Williams, who plied her with attention, gifts and what seemed to be friendship. (Kelly’s testimony supports my observation in a previous post that her behavior seemed indicative of clinical depression, a phenomenon that takes on a life of its own.) It’s a sad story, even a tragic one.
None of this excuses breaking the law (if laws are shown to be broken). None of it exonerates the McDonnells for showing terrible judgment by accepting gifts from Williams. Wrong is wrong, whatever the psychological explanation. But it does provide a context for understanding and interpreting what happened. And the picture we’re getting is of a vulnerable woman preyed upon by Williams to extract political favors from the administration.
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