Judge Denies Bid For Separate Trial For Maureen McDonnell

Former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell, center, is flanked by daughters Rachel McDonnell, left, and Cailin Young, right, as they arrive at the federal courthouse in Richmond, Va,, Monday, July 28, 2014, on the ... Former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell, center, is flanked by daughters Rachel McDonnell, left, and Cailin Young, right, as they arrive at the federal courthouse in Richmond, Va,, Monday, July 28, 2014, on the first day of jury selection in the corruption trial of former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife in Richmond, Va. Bob and Maureen McDonnell are charged in a 14-count indictment with accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from the CEO of a dietary supplements company in exchange for helping promote his products. (AP Photo/Joe Mahoney) MORE LESS
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A federal judge denied a spur-of-the-moment request Monday for separate trials for former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and his wife.

The Washington Post reported that Maureen McDonnell’s defense attorney, William Burck, argued after the court returned from lunch that evidence given in testimony solicited by the governor’s attorneys would prove unhelpful to the first lady on the charge that she obstructed justice.

Before the court broke for lunch, a former cabinet member close to the governor testified that Maureen McDonnell was “very difficult, very demanding, very diva-ish.”

U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer denied the motion without offering any reasoning for his decision. Spencer had also denied a request to grant separate trials to the couple last summer.

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