Terry McAuliffe says he has done nothing wrong, a day after it was revealed the Virginia governor is under federal investigation as to whether his 2013 campaign accepted improper contributions.
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He tweeted: “Still early, but having two governors in a row under fed investigation says something very bad about VA’s political culture”.
McAuliffe previously served as a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a program of the Clinton Foundation.
“Neither the governor nor his former campaign has knowledge of this matter, but as reported, contributions to the campaign from Mr. Wang were completely lawful”, Elias said in his statement per Fox News.
McAuliffe said no investigators have contacted him and he learned about the inquiry only when CNN called.
McAuliffe is the second Virginia governor in a row to be hit with a federal investigation. Wang is a former delegate to communist China’s National People’s Congress (NPC).
“Broadband has become as essential as any utility for maintaining a high quality of life in our communities and meeting our economic and workforce development goals”, said McAuliffe. McAulliffe is a longtime friend and ally of the Clintons and worked as a volunteer executive for the Clinton Foundation prior to holding office in Virginia. According to The Wall Street Journal, Wang donated $2 million to the Clinton Foundation. The FBI and the Justice Department declined comment. Back in 2009, when McAuliffe ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor, his campaign took a healthy donation from likely Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Asked Tuesday by reporters in Boyce, Virginia about CNN’s report on the probe, McAuliffe said his reaction was, “Shock”. The company is a subsidiary of a company owned by Chinese businessman Wang Wenliang, who is a permanent US resident with a green card. You claim to be investigating something unrelated to either Clinton, but you make sure the name “Clinton” is in there somewhere. “The contribution came in, and they have unequivocally said he was entitled to write a check, so he wrote a check”.
Among the donations under question is $120,000 McAuliffe received from Chinese businessman Wang Wenliang through his US businesses.
McAuliffe resigned from the company in December 2012.
McAuliffe’s ties to foreign business have caused controversy before.
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McAuliffe’s predecessor, Bob McDonnell, appealed his conviction on federal corruption charges.
