Virginia’s former first lady Maureen McDonnell had a lot of fingers pointed at her when she and her husband, former Gov. Bob McDonnell, were on trial earlier this year on corruption charges.
Now that the McDonnells have been convicted, Maureen McDonnell is getting one more finger pointed in her direction — and this finger belongs to one of the couple’s daughters.
“My mom . . . has always been concerned about getting discounts or freebees,” Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky wrote in a letter filed in federal court in support of her father in his upcoming sentencing. The letter was reported on by the Washington Post.
Maureen McDonnell “hid her coordination with people for free or discounted things or services and she didn’t communicate with my dad because she knew he would not approve,” the letter continued. “The testimony about my mom was not just part of a defense strategy and was not an attempt to ‘throw her under the bus,’ but unfortunately, was the reality.”
Prosecutors had accused the McDonnells of accepting gifts from a businessman who angled to gain favors from the couple.
Former U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, both Virginians, also wrote letters in support of Bob McDonnell, the Post reported.
