Virginia’s party boy-turned-governor Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend and confidant of the Clintons, is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice for potentially taking illegal campaign contributions.
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His comments came a day after reports surfaced that the FBI is investigating whether any donations made to the McAuliffe campaign were illegal.
USA law prohibits foreign nationals from donating to election campaigns here.
McAuliffe, who chaired Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008, also raised money for her race for a Senate seat in NY, even pledging in 1999 to put up $1.35 million in cash to secure a mortgage on a NY home as she geared up for the race. McAuliffe said the investigation has “nothing to do with” the foundation.
Federal law forbids foreigners from contributing to USA political campaigns, but McAuliffe said Wang has held a green card for almost a decade and is a legitimate donor.
The investigation has also scrutinized McAuliffe’s time serving on the board of the Clinton Global Initiative. As of press time, Wang a spokesperson claims his USA company had not been contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other investigators.
The 62-year-old Wang is a member of China’s ruling Communist Party and a delegate from the northeastern province of Liaoning to the country’s ceremonial legislature, the National People’s Congress, according to his profile on the body’s website.
Mr. Wang has also contributed $2 million dollars to the Clinton Foundation along with sizable donations to colleges like NYU and Harvard.
“You know, investigations happen”, McAuliffe told reporters on Tuesday.
“Contributions by foreign nationals are barred, but a spokesman for Wang says he has permanent USA resident status and his contributions were legal”.
In 2012, Wang was awarded an honorary doctorate of business administration from the University of SC, the school said in an online news release. Foreign nationals are not allowed to donate to federal, state or local elections.
In March, McAuliffe said he would decline if Clinton asks him to be her running mate.
McAuliffe and the Clintons have been close friends for three decades; their families even vacation together. “It was campaign against the Clinton machine”, said Chris LaCivita, a Republican strategist who served as a senior adviser to Cuccinelli.
McAuliffe got his professional start raising money for President Jimmy Carter’s re-election, becoming the campaign’s national finance director. But he insisted the situation “has nothing to do with the Clinton Foundation”.
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Last year, McAuliffe’s political action committee, Common Good Va., returned a $25,000 donation from a company with ties to Angola’s state-owned oil company after The Associated Press raised questions about its legality. McDonnell, a Republican, has appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court; as of late April, the court appeared poised to overturn his conviction.
