RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Lawyers defending former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife against corruption charges say the couple couldn’t have been scheming together to accept bribes from a businessman because their marriage was falling apart.
The attorneys said the couple had a long-broken marriage and that Maureen McDonnell had developed a crush on a businessman who is the prosecution’s star witness.
The McDonnells are charged in a 14-count indictment with accepting more than $165,000 in loans, designer clothes, vacations and a Rolex watch from Jonnie Williams, the CEO of dietary supplements maker Star Scientific. Prosecutors say that in exchange, they helped to promote Williams’ business. If convicted, they could face decades in prison.
The trial is set to resume Wednesday morning with the continued testimony of Williams’ assistant, Jerri Fulkerson.
