As the prosecution continued its case today, the testimony continued along a few themes —
- That the medical folks thought Anatabloc was worthless (a prosecution point);
- That key aides in the McDonnell administration were appalled at Jonnie Williams and his relationship with Maureen McDonnell (a prosecution point); and
- That Maureen McDonnell was a mental case (a defense point).
The most “headline-worthy” bit of testimony was probably from Sarah Scarborough, Governor’s Mansion director, who testified at length about life with Maureen McDonnell. She said that she thought that Bob was “in denial” about Maureen’s mental competence. She described her as a sneaky, spoiled brat. On the heels of Mary-Shea Sutherland’s testimony yesterday about Maureen being a “screamer” whose tantrums occasionally prompted the security staff to intervene, the image is being painted by the defense of a Maureen McDonnell who was out of control.
But probably the more important witness was Secretary of Health Bill Hazel, who had been Secretary of Health during the McDonnell Administration as well. Hazel and his staff called Jonnie Williams “the Tic Tac Man,” because he always had samples of the little white pills with him. According to the article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Hazel told the court that although he was required to disclose any gifts given to him, he didn’t declare the free samples of Anatabloc because “I didn’t think they had any value.” He tried to avoid Williams, because he didn’t want to get the Anatabloc sales pitch again — “the Anataboost, whatever.”
Hazel’s testimony was almost light-hearted, but perhaps the most serious point was when he testified that the day after the McDonnell family got back from a late July, 2011, vacation at Jonnie Williams’ Smith Mountain Lake house — complete with Ferrari — he got a late-night email from Bob McDonnell, asking him to send a representative to a meeting at the Executive Mansion with Williams and Maureen.
Hazel also offered testimony that begins to fill out the detailed timeline that the prosecutors obviously expect will show a quid pro quo. The Washington Post story has perhaps the best narrative to establish Williams’ influence over the McDonnells. Hazel testified about a late February, 2012 Governor’s Mansion reception for doctors who were leaders in the health field. The Governor had a one-on-one meeting with Williams early in the day, at which apparently Williams agreed to loan the McDonnells $50,000, a check that was written to the McDonnell real estate LLC a week later. At the Maureen’s request, Williams was allowed to add 25 people from Star Scientific to the guest list, giving them an opportunity to schmooze with a roomful of well-connected doctors. (Interesting picky point — if Maureen made the decision to add the names to the guest list, it’s not clear that that would be an official act that could lead to prosecution, because she is not a public official.)
This kind of evidence starts to show the “access for cash” that the prosecution claims is the illegal conspiracy. What is not clear is whether the jury will see lending the prestige of the Governor’s office to Star Scientific constitutes “official acts”; if they were, then if the jury believed that the “official acts” were undertaken in exchange for loans, vacations and a Rolex, that would be sufficient evidence for a conviction.
