RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Kathleen L. Carmody said she voted for Bob McDonnell and thought he was “terrific for Virginia” as governor – but as a juror in McDonnell’s corruption trial, she was compelled to convict him.
“The facts spoke for themselves,” she told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday not long after she and fellow jurors found McDonnell guilty on 11 of 13 counts. McDonnell’s wife, Maureen, was convicted of nine of 13 charges.
The case derailed the career of the onetime rising Republican star. Bob McDonnell’s attorney, Henry Asbill, said his client did not receive a fair trial and will appeal. Asbill reiterated his previous statement that prosecutors sought to criminalize routine political behavior.
“I have no idea what the jury deliberated about,” Asbill said. “There are a lot of things about the case that (you) can sit back and think about but it’s hard to tell when the die was cast.”
Maureen McDonnell’s attorney, William Burck, declined to comment.