Democratic Virginia State Senator Allegedly Took Bribe To Resign, Creating GOP Majority
More information is coming to light about how the Virginia Senate was able to turn Republican. Emails reveal that Republicans secured a majority in the Virginia Senate by allegedly bribing Democratic State Senator Phillip Puckett with a car, a cell phone, a cushy job, and a judgeship for his daughter.
In the midst of a standoff on Medicaid explanation and the state budget, Sen. Phillip P. Puckett handed Republicans the majority on the same day he announced his new job, which from the emails, show a connection between the two and the corrupted Democratic Senator was to write his own job description.
He was warned that the obvious would look obvious.
The Washington Post reports:
The head of the state tobacco commission warned that the panel would create the appearance of “manipulating” power in the Virginia Senate if it announced that it was hiring Sen. Phillip P. Puckett on the same day he gave up his seat, according to e-mails released Thursday.
Tim Pfohl, interim executive director of the commission, said in a June 5 e-mail to Puckett, a Democrat from rural Russell County, that he had begged Del. Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott) to delay making it known that Puckett was getting a top staff job with the commission. Kilgore is chairman of the commission.
“Phillip: Terry spoke to us today about announcing your role w/ the Commission in conjunction with what he said is your intention to announce your Senate plans tomorrow,” Pfohl wrote. “I implored him to ‘decouple’ those announcements for the sake of the appearance of the Commission manipulating the Senate balance of power and starting WW3 w/ the Governor’s administration.”
BanditBasheert June 28th, 2014 at 4:17 pm
Seriously, taking a bribe should be a crime if it isn’t. Doesn’t matter what his party affiliation is, it was wrong. Is it also a crime to offer a bribe and pay a bribe? There has to be a both sides thing.
Jeffrey Samuels June 28th, 2014 at 6:07 pm
this is old news. It was reported that he had accepted the job, and his daughter a judgeship a while back to resign. Only an idiot wouldn’t have made the connection. Republicans have become far less subtle in the last few years.
Eric Trommater June 28th, 2014 at 6:30 pm
I think the word “allegedly” is getting thrown around too much these days. I read a newspaper article where a man was shot in the chest three times and they wrote he was “allegedly” murdered. Uh he’s dead and someone killed him that’s not an alleged!
Same here! He resigned and took a job offered him by the very people who took power upon his resignation. Again he didn’t allegedly take a bribe. He took a bribe. The only question is whether it was illegal.
Shades June 29th, 2014 at 8:42 am
Paging Dr. Obvious.