The wife of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) twice purchased thousands of shares of Star Scientific, the dietary supplement company at the center of a state and federal probe, a spokesman for McDonnell’s legal advisers confirmed to The Washington Post on Friday.
According to the Post, the stock was “bought and held in the same time frame” that Maureen McDonnell and her husband were promoting the company. The spokesman said that the Virginia first lady never informed the governor of the stock purchases, which he said were bought for Maureen McDonnell and her children.
Bob McDonnell’s relationship with Jonnie Williams, the chief executive of Star Scientific, has been the subject of federal and state investigations. If the investigations lead to evidence that he acted in his official capacity as governor to benefit his own interest in the company could deepen his legal woes.
The governor told the Associated Press in an interview Friday that he’s had a “very positive relationship” with Williams for “three or four years.”
“Right now, we’re just in a different situation,” McDonnell said.
This post has bene updated.
