Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) will donate $18,000 to an unspecified charity, an amount equal to the value of the personal gifts he received from Virginia businessman Jonnie Williams, NBC’s Richmond, Va. affiliate reported on Tuesday.
Williams’ relationship with Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) is under federal investigation, and Cuccinelli’s ties to Williams and his company, Star Scientific, have come under scrutiny. Cuccinelli bought stock in Star Scientific while serving as attorney general, and accepted plane trips and vacations paid for by Williams. Since the scandal broke earlier this year, Cuccinelli, who is running for governor, had resisted calls to repay Williams’ gifts.
In July and August, McDonnell gradually announced that he and his family had returned over $150,000 in payments and loans provided to them by Williams in recent years.
NBC12 News in Richmond also announced on Tuesday that it would air an interview with Cuccinelli on the topic on Tuesday night.
