In a letter sent last Thursday, Virginia House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford, sought direction from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the legality of three of Gov. Terry McAuliffe's recent appointments — all recently resigned Virginia legislators.
The issue was a concern for Howell because of a continuing federal investigation into the resignation of Democratic State Sen. Phil Puckett, who appeared to be in line to take a state appointment after his resignation, but turned down the position after a storm of public scrutiny.
According to a Howell press release, during the summer McAuliffe appointed Del. Robert Brink as Deputy Commissioner for Aging Services on the same day he resigned from the House, in addition to Sen. Henry Marsh to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and Del. Algie Howell to the Parole Board, just two and eight days following their resignations, respectively.
Despite Howell's concern, he states in his letter he believes the appointments are not unlawful.
"Although I have no doubt that this longstanding practice is legal and appropriate, I am concerned that you may have a different view based on a novel extension of federal public corruption law," Howell said.
Howell said he was worried the situation would mimic that of the sudden resignation of Puckett in June, which was followed by his daughter acquiring a judge position and him a position the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.
Howell said he awaiting a response from the Justice Department before moving forward with voting on approval of the appointments in the House. The Justice Department has yet to release a comment, Howell spokesperson Matthew Moran said.
“The Justice Department has seemed to take a different view on the matter and the Speaker [Howell] is taking guidance before taking action on these individuals,” Moran said.
Democrats, however, have expressed frustration that Howell is seeking approval “while simultaneously admitting that actually, he [Howell] knows these appointments are valid,” according to a Virginia Democrat press release.
“Speaker Howell’s letter is nothing but yet another political charade designed to distract Virginians from his party’s inability to avoid scandal,” Morgan Finkelstein, press secretary for the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in an email.
Finkelstein said McAuliffe’s party is more concerned about Howell’s actions causing a deviation from completing platform tasks at hand.
“It's time for them to end these antics and come to the table to work towards solutions that help improve the lives of Virginians,” she said.
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