The campaign for Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate for governor, confirmed Cuccinelli asked Gov. Bob McDonnell to call a special session to address ethics reform.
Both Cuccinelli and McDonnell were given gifts from political donor Jonnie Williams, chief executive of Star Scientific. Cuccinelli has said he won't return the gifts. McDonnell said last week he will, even though he says he's done nothing wrong.
“Trust is something that is easy to lose and hard to earn back,” Cuccinelli said. “I think the longer we let this go, the more difficult it is for Virginians to achieve the level of faith in their government that I think they’re accustomed to. And I think that’s something we can achieve if we move quickly.”
If Cuccinelli wants to restore public trust, he should reimburse the value of the gifts he received, Democrats say. “Ken Cuccinelli asking for a special session on ethics is like Alex Rodriguez asking Major League Baseball to get steroids out of the game,” said Democratic Party of Virginia spokesman Brian Coy. “For Cuccinelli to ask Virginians to take him seriously while he continues to sit on $18,000 in tainted Star Scientific gifts and trips is a brazen act of hypocrisy, even for him.”
Other Republicans have also called for a special session, but last week the governor said he had no plans to call one.
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