sitting virginia governor to ever be criminally indicted while still in august. this guy, james cole reportedly agreed with the mcdonnells lawyer request. he agreed to change the timing. he overrode the local prosecutor, the u.s. attorney in virginia, and made that u.s. attorney wait to bring the charges until after governor mcdonnell was out of office. that was the first thing that was weird about the timing of this case, and that part of it is still unexplained by the u.s. justice department. we ve asked them repeatedly, they will not talk to us about it. but the second weird thing about the timing is what happened next. even after they worked so hard to get the indictment pushed back, bob mcdonnell defense team apparently still didn t know when the indictment against him was going to come down. and the reason we know they didn t know about the timing is because when the indictment did happen this week, one of bob mcdonnell s key lawyers was not only on vacation, he was apparently o
in the public integrity office of the justice department, prosecuting members of congress, pursuing these cases. i put the question to him, what about the idea that mcdonnells lawyers have raised that this is just routine politics? there s some back-scratching. and he said, broadly, because he wasn t speaking specifically to this indictment, but he said broadly, he doesn t view it that way at all, this is when there are allegations of bribery or horse trading of any kind, he said that is garden variety, classic corruption. they will pursue it aggressively. yeah, it s been very clear that this justice department has done that. all right, ari melber, you have a lot more. yeah. you ve been all over the map with him, so we ll see you at 3:00 with the full interview. you ll be able to watch it then, 3:00 on the cycle right here on msnbc. we don t see a lot of eric holder interviews, and ari went all over the map, it s a great job. thank you, ari. thank you. a lot more coming up
wife have now been arraigned on more than a dozen charges including fraud, false statements and obstruction. and now we re learning new deals about a plea deal he rejected. our senior washington correspondent joe johns is joining us now. he s got more. what s the latest with bob in mcdonnell? the latest step for the mcdonnells in a long legal battle sta started before he left office. they re now preparing for a trial that could have been avoided but only if the former governor had been willing to plead guilty in federal court. bob and maureen mcdonnell walked into the courthouse holding hands and prayed with a priest in the hallway. it may be too late for divine intervention. a source familiar with the criminal case said the former governor had been given an opportunity to spare his wife from federal charges but refused to take a plea deal, a move that now forces her into court with him. there have been several points in this process, even before an indictment was returned, that it
if he pleaded guilty to one bank fraud charge that could d. not involve corruption then his wife could have avoided all charges. the governor reportedly rejected that offer and now the mcdonnells face a very public trial. 14 felonies each for allegedly accepting illegal gifts from a political supporter. fbi is investigating robert menendez. according to nbc 4 new york the justice department is investigating senator menendez s efforts on behalf of two fugitive bankers from ecuador. whether the senator crossed the line in trying to help him stay in the u.s. issued a statement even after a false smear campaign launched begins senator menendez. anonymous sources making outalan dish charges. aiken plans to run against renee elmers in a republican leading district and that s is tonight s speed read. thank you for being with us. thank you to gretawire.com.
one of the things that has been fascinating all along balanced budget amendment the former governor bob mcdonnell corruption case in virginia has been the timing. the washington post reported in december the u.s. attorney in virginia was not only ready to bring criminal corruption charge against bob mcdonnell and his wife, he had told their lawyers that he was about to bring those charges in december. and that s, of course, while bob mcdonnell was still governor of virginia. the mcdonnells lawyers responded by taking their case straight to the department of justice. and they pled their case to please not make him the first sitting virginia governor to ever be criminally indicted while still in august. this guy, james cole reportedly agreed with the mcdonnells lawyer request.