Maureen McDonnell’s first witness Wednesday was her friend April Niamtu, wife of Joe Niamtu, a cosmetic surgeon. Niamtu said she met the McDonnells in 2009 when Bob McDonnell was running for governor and she and Maureen quickly became friends.

She recounted helping the new first lady in the run-up to the inauguration events when Maureen McDonnell was worried that she wasn’t going to “look the part.” She even suggested that Maureen, a nail biter, try acrylic nails but they didn’t last long either, Niamtu said.

The NuSkin trip

Niamtu said that in October 2011, Maureen McDonnell invited her to the NuSkin convention in Utah because she wanted “girlfriend time” and was upset with goings-on related to the Executive Mansion.

Niamtu agreed to join her on the trip, but when Niamtu arrived at the airport where Williams was flying them on his jet, she learned that they were first going to go to California to drop off a researcher who was giving a presentation on Anatabloc.

She said there were about eight people on the plane, including Shirley Forbes, wife of Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, and that Williams and Maureen seemed like “best buddies,” chatting away.