New documents raise more questions about financing of McDonnell’s daughter’s wedding [View all]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

By Rosalind S. Helderman, Apr 10, 2013 01:37 AM EDT

The Washington Post Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has said his daughter and her husband paid for their own wedding. So a $15,000 check from a major campaign donor to pay for the food at the affair was a gift to the bride and groom and not to him and therefore did not have to be publicly disclosed under the law, the governor says.

But documents obtained by The Washington Post show that McDonnell signed the catering contract, making him financially responsible for the 2011 event. The governor made handwritten notes to the caterer in the margins. In addition, the governor paid nearly $8,000 in deposits for the catering.
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The question of who was responsible for paying the catering bill is a key one because Virginia law requires that elected officials publicly report gifts of more than $50. But the law does not require the disclosure of gifts to the official’s family members.
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The gift came from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., chief executive of Star Scientific Inc., a company near Richmond that makes dietary supplements. Three days before the wedding, the governor’s wife, Maureen, flew to Florida to speak about the company’s new product, an anti-inflammatory made from a chemical found in tobacco. Shortly after the wedding, the governor and his wife hosted a luncheon at the Executive Mansion marking the launch of Star’s latest product.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/mcdonnell-signed-contract-for-wedding-food-later-paid-by-donor/2013/04/09/9ec9f85c-a05e-11e2-9c03-6952ff305f35_story.html

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Also:

Report: McDonnell helped finance daughter’s wedding, despite claims donor’s gift wasn’t to him

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/report-mcdonnell-helped-finance-daughters-wedding-despite-claims-donors-gift-wasnt-to-him/2013/04/09/345ba59a-a164-11e2-bd52-614156372695_story.html