Gloucester VA Links and News: Cuccinelli

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Virginia Ken Cuccinelli's Conflict of Interest Concerns

Ken Cuccinelli (R) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli is responsible for providing advice to the state Board of Elections on legal issues relating to campaigns and elections — including his own campaign for governor.

That means he's responsible for issuing legal opinions about the implementation of voting and election laws, and will be the Board's go-to lawyer if there are any problems or irregularities on Election Day!

If Ken Cuccinelli wants to resolve this stunning conflict of interest, he should recuse himself and his office from election matters immediately.

Ken Cuccinelli isn't the first Attorney General to run for governor of Virginia. But he did break a long-standing bipartisan tradition by flat out refusing to step down during the campaign.

In recent history, former attorneys generals have resigned because of the time commitments of a gubernatorial campaign (when Governor McDonnell stepped aside, he said a campaign "preclude[s] you from working full-time as attorney general") and because of the inevitable conflicts of interest that arise for any attorney general who is also a candidate for governor.

Earlier this month, the Daily Press Editorial Board called on Cuccinelli to step aside, explaining, "if a Democratic campaign needs clarification on a legal matter, it must seek guidance from an office headed by the Republican candidate for governor. And if questions arise for the GOP, the attorney general's office cannot be expected to give counsel to a ticket headed by its own boss."

From the Terry McAuliffe camp. Sent via email to us. It's about time that his staff actually sent something worth looking at and reporting and even better yet, without asking for money as well. And this time we have to admit, it looks like he's right. There is a very real potential for a conflict of interest here that is not in the least bit fair. Now we will not try and pretend that we like McAuliffe, we don't. But this is inexcusable by the Cuccinelli Camp and of very serious concern. Cuccinelli either needs to step down from his position as Attorney General or leave the race.

A very black eye for the Cuccinelli camp.

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Cuccinelli Asks Treasury To Release Money For Medicaid Fraud Settlement

Ken Cuccinelli (R) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Associated Press |

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has asked the U.S. Treasury Department to go ahead and release $800,000 of Virginia's share of a national Medicaid fraud settlement.

That's a fraction of the $105 million the state still has coming for leading an investigation that resulted in Abbott Laboratories paying $1.5 million to settle allegations that it promoted an anti-seizure drug for uses that were not approved by the federal government. A federal judge in Abingdon, Va., approved the settlement in October.

The attorney general's office already has received $10 million for its own use. The rest of the money will go to various public safety initiatives selected by the attorney general, but the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture has demanded additional details on Virginia's proposals before cutting any additional checks.

In a letter earlier this week, Cuccinelli's office asked the Treasury office to release $800,000 for one of the initiatives: a grant to the Department of Criminal Justice Services for training to help law enforcement officers better respond to crisis situations involving mentally ill people.

"This is an important program that will receive funding to ensure that more of our first responders get the training they need to deal with these difficult situations," Cuccinelli said in a written statement Friday. "The added bonus is that it won't be at the taxpayers' expense."

Cuccinelli said that a 2011 jail survey found that one-fourth of Virginia's inmates had mental illnesses, and nearly have of those had serious mental illnesses.