It's the latest example the complicated relationship between Cuccinelli and McDonnell. Cuccinelli ordered McDonnell probe

Last year, Virginia GOP Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli launched an investigation into Gov. Bob McDonnell — the man he’s running to succeed in the governor’s mansion.

Cuccinelli triggered the probe in November, when he appointed Richmond Commonwealth Attorney Michael Herring to review McDonnell’s statements of economic interest and determine whether he violated state gift disclosure laws.


The story was first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

News of the investigation follows weeks of headlines about McDonnell’s relationship with Jonnie Williams, CEO of the dietary supplement company Star Scientific, including a separate FBI probe into the issue that was launched last month.

Williams has given McDonnell and his family thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts, including a $15,000 check to pay for catering at McDonnell’s daughter’s wedding two years ago that McDonnell did not disclose at the time. He has also donated heavily to McDonnell’s political action committee, Opportunity Virginia.

Under Virginia law, elected officials must disclose any gifts that exceed $50. Knowingly failing to disclose a gift is considered a misdemeanor; there is no criminal penalty for accidentally failing to disclose them.

The investigation is the latest example of the complicated relationship between McDonnell and Cuccinelli. McDonnell is supporting Cuccinelli’s bid and raising money for him, but the two butted heads earlier this year when Cuccinelli opposed McDonnell’s bipartisan transportation bill. And undoubtedly voters’ approval of McDonnell and his administration will play a role in Cuccinelli’s fate this November.

“I did what I have consistently tried to do as attorney general, which is to uphold the law impartially,” Cuccinelli said in a statement to the Times-Dispatch.

Cuccinelli also clarified in his statement that the investigation “was not a conclusion that any violation occurred.”

“Under the law, that conclusion will be made by Mr. Herring alone,” he said.

McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said in a statement that the administration is “aware of the review” and that they “look forward” to working with Herring.

Cuccinelli, too, has come under fire for his relationship to Williams and Star Scientific: The politician has received more than $18,000 in gifts from Williams and the company, including over $5,000 that he disclosed just last month. Cuccinelli asked Herring to investigate those disclosures last month when they were disclosed, according to the Times-Dispatch.

Virginia Democrats blasted Cuccinelli for ordering the investigation of McDonnell last winter but waiting until last month to have Herring investigate his own ties to Star Scientific.

Cuccinelli “spurred the investigation of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s failure to disclose gifts from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams while at the same time ignoring his own similar disclosure failures,” said Virginia Democratic Party spokesman Brian Coy. “It is inexcusable for Cuccinelli to use the fact that it was his responsibility to investigate his own financial disclosure statements to avoid an investigation for six months after he began the investigation into the governor’s statements.”