RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Regardless of the outcome of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s corruption trial, a string of personal details that emerged during five weeks of testimony shattered an image he cultivated over more than two decades in public office as a happily married family man and fiscal conservative.
Jurors reached a verdict on Thursday, their third day of deliberations, and were expected to announce it in the afternoon. They faced an enormous volume of evidence and a portrait of a man whose personal life unfolded in stark contrast to his public persona: McDonnell espoused family values and spending restraint while his marriage crumbled, his children had to schedule appointments to see him, and he relied heavily on credit cards and loans.
McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, are charged in a 14-count indictment with doing special favors for Jonnie Williams, the CEO of dietary supplements maker Star Scientific Inc., in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. The defense sought to convince the jury that the couple could not have conspired because they were barely speaking
As a state lawmaker, McDonnell unsuccessfully championed legislation to allow couples to enter into a “covenant marriage” in which they would agree to seek marital counseling before getting a divorce. But he was unable to convince his wife to undergo marriage counseling after their relationship deteriorated to the point where they could not communicate, McDonnell testified, although she did eventually get individual treatment. He and his wife are living apart during the trial, McDonnell revealed.
McDonnell, once a national Republican up-and-comer, testified in detail about his broken marriage. His attorneys introduced an email he wrote to his wife in 2011 complaining about her “fiery anger” and pleading with her to work with him to save the marriage.