Bob McDonnell, above, attempts to distance himself from Ken Cuccinelli's statement about President Obama's citizenship. McDonnell distances himself from AG

Virginia GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell tried to make clear Monday that he does not agree with a suggestion by close ally, state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, that President Barack Obama was not born in United States.

Cuccinelli also distanced himself from his earlier words Monday, saying he was speaking hypothetically.


The liberal Virginia blogger “Not Larry Sabato” on Monday posted an audio clip of Cuccinelli saying it was “possible” that he might “challenge” a federal law as illegitimate because “someone qualified to be president didn’t sign it.”

“Someone is going to have to come forward with nailed down testimony that he was born in place B, wherever that is,” the attorney general said. “You know, the speculation is Kenya. And that doesn’t seem beyond the realm of possibility.” The date of the recording was not known.

Cuccinelli campaigned closely with McDonnell and the two frequently appear together at political events.

Additionally, Cuccinelli was one of the biggest supporters of McDonnell’s decision to sign an executive order lifting workplace protections for the state’s gay employees. McDonnell later reversed the executive order.

Asked by POLITICO for a response to Cuccinelli’s comments, McDonnell’s spokeswoman Stacy Johnson originally said that “All questions should be directed to the Office of the Attorney General.”

Pressed on the close tie the two politicians have shared, Johnson responded: “The president was born in the United States. This is a non-issue and we will have no further comment.”

In a statement Monday, Cuccinelli said: “I absolutely believe that President Obama was born in the United States. I don’t buy into the claims that he wasn’t. On the recording, I was asked a hypothetical legal question, and I gave a hypothetical legal answer in response.”

“As I said previously, this issue was not a part of my campaign, and it is not part of what I am doing now as attorney general,” he added.