Former Senator Phil Puckett’s resignation that flipped the Virginia Senate majority to the GOP, thus sparking the #BLACKorBUST anti-Medicaid amendments, has now reportedly drawn scrutiny from federal investigators.
At the time of his resignation, it was widely reported that Puckett did so as part of a deal to allow his daughter to become a Virginia judge, and to accept a paid position on the state’s tobacco commission. Puckett subsequently distanced himself from any commitment for a job, saying in a statement issued at the time, “I have never been officially offered a job by the Tobacco Commission.”
The Times-Dispatch broke the story, and has full details here.
Although the headlines all say “Puckett,” there may also be real danger for Del. Terry Kilgore (R-Scott), who serves as chairman of the tobacco commission. In Virginia, the bribery law reaches both those who offer and those who accept, and as we’ve learned from examining the ongoing legal saga surrounding former Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, a lot of these kinds of questions will depend on what constitutes an official act that can be reached by anti-corruption laws. Here’s what the Virginia bribery law says:
§ 18.2-447. When person guilty of bribery.
A person shall be guilty of bribery under the provisions of this article:
(1) If he offers, confers or agrees to confer upon another (a) any pecuniary benefit as consideration for or to obtain or influence the recipient’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of discretion as a public servant or party official, or (b) any benefit as consideration for or to obtain or influence either the recipient’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of official discretion in a judicial or administrative proceeding or the recipient’s violation of a known legal duty as a public servant or party official; or
(2) If he accepts or agrees to accept from another (a) any pecuniary benefit offered, conferred or agreed to be conferred as consideration for or to obtain or influence the recipient’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of discretion as a public servant or party official, or (b) any benefit offered, conferred or agreed to be conferred as consideration for or to obtain or influence either the recipient’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of official discretion in a judicial or administrative proceeding or the recipient’s violation of a known legal duty as a public servant or party official; or
(3) If he solicits from another (a) any pecuniary benefit or promise of pecuniary benefit as consideration for or in exchange for his decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of discretion as a public servant or party official, or (b) any benefit or promise of benefit as consideration for or in exchange for his decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of official discretion in a judicial or administrative proceeding or his violation of a known legal duty as a public servant or party official.”
Puckett is apparently accused of simply resigning from the Senate (i.e., stopping any official acts), and obviously he has not accepted any job with the tobacco commission. But did he “agree to accept” it? Is resigning from the Senate an “exercise of discretion as a public servant”? Did Kilgore make any promises to Puckett? Early reports sure suggested only that he had “discussed” the possibility of Puckett’s potential employment at the commission.
This story is definitely not going away anytime soon. We’ll have more as it happens.
13 comments
Last I checked the feds do not enforce Virginia criminal statutes. We are looking at a far fetched investigation and prosecution under the Hobbs Act or some other general anti corruption statute.
I ALMOST can’t believe the Holder Justice department would be so stupid as to publicly investigate this.
There is no danger here for anybody. There was no quid pro quo. Puckett resigned for his own reasons, and the investigation will likely show that.
Can you explain the timing ?
Sure – it was the best time for him to go.
There in lies the problem. It’s the best time for the Republicans for him to leave, but he’s a Democrat?
The real question is who is the Canary/snitch? is somebody going to come up with enough cash to stop a singing canary?
I sure hope you’re right.
I’m still waiting for word on the investigation about Terry McAuliffe’s pressuring the Director of USCIS to approve his Chinese investors into the all green no car company.
From the comments and reports I’ve read it looks like Puckett’s wife is dying and that was the main reason he resigned. Kilgore’s district is close by and the two are good friends. He knew Puckett was going to resign ahead of time and decided to offer him the job. Had McAuliffe not drawn this session out with his stubbornness I highly doubt Puckett would have resigned. Dick Saslaw is saying there was no deal and on a matter of this much importance, he’s got every reason to lie and say there was…except he’s not.
Wonder if this was discussed at #GovMcAwful’s unscheduled meeting at the White House yesterday, or was he there simply to get his marching orders on Medicaid Expansion.
Might be a good time to have a couple hard drives crash, huh?
So sad….with everything going on, THIS is something that is DoJ worthy? Of course.
Of course it is Eric. Normally DOJ would never investigate something like this. But in these strange times Gov. Mcawfull simply places his angry petty call to his buddy Eric Holder.
Expect indictments as well. I would place a bet on it right now, it wont matter how flimsy the evidence will be. It wont even matter if they are certain that the have no chance for a conviction. It doesn’t matter, Holder will order his minions to indict anyone involved just to ‘make a point’, and ‘humiliate the opposition’.
Expect things to get even worse before they get better because federal law enforcement agents who can read and do know the law are now running for the doors because they are literally being ask to commit crimes in order to investigate trumped up charges by political hacks. Those who fail or refuse to run, are being isolated and retaliated against.