The US Attorney’s office will not file any charges in the Phil Puckett case. The federal investigation has been terminated. [read_more]
“After reviewing the facts gathered during the investigation, considering potentially applicable statutes, and consulting with the Public Integrity Section at the Department of Justice, we have decided not to pursue federal criminal charges for acts surrounding Senator Puckett’s resignation” U.S. Attorney Timothy Heaphy said in a letter released Friday afternoon.
“We are accordingly closing our investigation of this matter. Should new information arise from any source, we may reopen the investigation” and reconsider the decision, Heaphy wrote to lawyers representing principals in the case.
We all remember the firestorm created by Phil Puckett’s resignation which threw the Virginia Senate to Republican control and thwarted Governor McAuliffe’s goal of expanding medicare. Part of McAuliffe’s response to the resignation was telling Puckett to ‘rot in hell’. Senator Warner also got involved with possible job offers for Puckett’s daughter if Puckett would remain in the Senate.
In a letter sent Friday from Timothy J. Heaphy, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said he would pursue no criminal charges in the matter. The letter is here.
