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The Aftermath Of Governor Mcdonnell’S Corruption Trial: Proposing Comprehensive Ethics Reform In Virginia, Lisa J. Lindhorst
The Aftermath Of Governor Mcdonnell’S Corruption Trial: Proposing Comprehensive Ethics Reform In Virginia, Lisa J. Lindhorst
Lisa J Lindhorst
On September 4, 2014, a federal court convicted former governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell of eleven counts of corruption, bribery, and fraud for accepting over $165,000 worth of gifts and loans from the CEO of a local company. The egregious actions that led to these federal criminal convictions, however, were startlingly “legal” under Virginia’s ethics laws. The disparity between federal criminal standards and Virginia’s ethics standards illustrates the severe inadequacies that plague Virginia’s current system of ethics laws. Virginia’s absence of appropriate ethics laws and enforcement led to the state’s failing State Integrity Investigation grade, and the public acknowledgment by …