Report: Va commerce secretary broke lobbying rule

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones may have broken a law that prohibits federal agencies from lobbying Congress, according to federal investigators.

Jones was deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last year when emails were sent on his behalf to 1,000 recipients, including 46 of his own employees, asking them to contact several U.S. senators and encourage them to vote in favor of a budget bill.