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By Marc, April 6, 2010 6:12 pm

I’m not sure what is more troubling: the fact that Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is choosing to waste taxpayer money on a frivolous lawsuit challenging the recently passed federal health care reform law or the fact that he won’t come clean on what the actual costs are to the taxpayer?

In a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Virginia Democrats, Cuccinelli chose to hide information on the cost of the lawsuit versus coming clean with Virginians. Well it’s time for Cuccinelli to come clean and stop using the resources of the Attorney General’s office as a slush fund to further his political agenda.

As DPVA Political Director Don Mark rightfully noted, in email earlier today, “as we all know, a lawyers greatest asset is his time and Cuccinelli has still refused to divulge how much time his office is spending on this ideological lawsuit.”

The Democratic Party of Virginia today chose to call him out on his evasiveness and filed a second FOIA request. Nice job, but I’m not holding my breath on the Cooch “coming clean!”

Virginia Democrats File Additional FOIA, After Cuccinelli Refuses to Answer Taxpayer Questions

DPVA: ‘Virginia’s Attorney General appears to have gone rogue’

RICHMOND – Virginia Democrats filed a second Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Tuesday, after his initial response avoided answering any questions on the resources expended on a federal health care lawsuit.

Democratic Party of Virginia Executive Director David Mills asked Tuesday for Cuccinelli to come clean with Virginia taxpayers about how much taxpayer-funded staff time was going into Virginia v. Sebelius, Cuccinelli’s health care lawsuit against the federal government. The DPVA’s second FOIA included requests for:

The schedules of Ken Cuccinelli, Solicitor General Duncan Getchell and Deputy Attorney General Wesley Russell for the month of March; a log of communication between Cuccinelli and national Republican political organizations about the lawsuit; a log of communication between Cuccinelli and 13 other state attorneys general who filed suit; communication between Cuccinelli and Governor Bob McDonnell regarding the health care legislation; a list of current Office of Attorney General staff and their salaries.
The full FOIA filed Tuesday is below. In an initial FOIA response issued last week, Cuccinelli’s office had refused to give any information about the resources used on lawsuit preparation. That response is available here: http://www.vademocrats.org/page/-/FOIAresponse033110.pdf.

Mills released the following statement Tuesday on the DPVA’s second FOIA:

“Virginia’s Attorney General appears to have gone rogue. Ken Cuccinelli refuses to provide any information to Virginia taxpayers about how much taxpayer-funded attorney time and office resources he’s wasting on a frivolous health care lawsuit against the federal government. In an attempt to find these answers, we have filed another FOIA request with the Office of the Attorney General.

“Based on his response to our initial FOIA request, Ken Cuccinelli has clearly chosen the path of hiding information rather than openness. Furthermore, we have serious questions about his use of the working paper exemption to cover up political communication with parties outside of Virginia.

“We will continue to respectfully ask the Attorney General to be accountable to the taxpayers who pay his salary. While Mr. Cuccinelli has been focused on scoring political points, he has shown little interest in openness with Virginia taxpayers. He has tried to obfuscate at every turn, while thousands of Virginians demand answers.

“Attorney General Cuccinelli has personally said that he believes this lawsuit is about ‘defending the Constitution of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia.’ [RTD, 3/27]. And yet he also claims that this purported all-important battle for the integrity of the Constitution is only going to cost the Commonwealth $350.

“Based on his office’s statements and response to our initial FOIA request, it seems Ken Cuccinelli wants Virginians to believe that attorneys in his office have devoted no staff time, held no meetings, and diverted no resources of any kind despite the priority he claims to have placed on this lawsuit. Ken Cuccinelli can’t have it both ways: You can’t claim something is a priority in your office and try to pretend it comes cheap.

“We will continue asking the Attorney General for answers through the formal FOIA process. But we ask that Mr. Cuccinelli choose the simpler route: stop ducking answers and come clean with Virginia taxpayers about exactly what resources he is using on this lawsuit.”

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By Marc, March 31, 2010 8:54 pm

In case you somehow missed it, Virginia Attorney General (AG) Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA) recently filed a lawsuit (Virginia v. Sebelius) that challenges the legality of the health care reform legislation signed into law by President Obama last week.

Cuccinelli is certainly no stranger to controversy. From the moment he assumed office in January, he has made a point of using the Attorney General’s office to push his right-wing social agenda. This includes arguing in a letter to the state’s public colleges and universities that “sexual orientation” could not and should not be included in any anti-discrimination policies.

So his latest push to mount a legal challenge to the recently passed health care reform legislation should come as no surprise? This is simply another attempt to use the AGs office to further his political agenda – and that of Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA).

As Virginia is facing a severe budget crisis that will affect so many folks throughout the state, Cuccinelli and McDonnell file a frivolous lawsuit that is politically motivated.  Not to mention that this lawsuit comes at a cost to taxpayers, right? You’re darn right!

As Blue Virginia reported on Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Virginia formally filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) formally requesting records of:

hours spent by Cuccinelli and Office of the Attorney General staff preparing Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sebelius; cost to taxpayers of staff work on the suit; a list of conference calls or written correspondence that the Office of the Attorney General had with other states’ attorneys general or national conservative groups in planning the lawsuit; any outside firms contracted to assist on the lawsuit; and, the Attorney General’s full schedule since taking office, including any scheduled television interviews in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

David Mills, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Virginia summed up things best when he said that

the Attorney General is acting like taxpayer funds are just a piggy bank for his personal political agenda. More than 10,000 Virginians [(in a petition launched by the DPVA)] have demanded that Ken Cuccinelli come clean about his use of taxpayer-funded state resources. This week, we’ll find out if Ken Cuccinelli still believes he’s accountable to the taxpayers of Virginia. We’re looking forward to his response.

Drum roll please. In response to the FOIA request, Stephen R. McCullough, senior appellate counsel for AG Ken Cuccinelli has responded by saying that “No such record exists” listing any attorney’s, both inside or outside the AGs office, that worked on producing the legal filing and any hours that they may have billed to the state to prepare it.

McCullough did acknowledge that existence of “correspondence between Cuccinelli’s office and the offices of 13 other state attorneys general who have also filed suit against the federal government, as well as Cuccinelli’s schedule since his took office Jan. 16.”

There were a total of 40 records related to correspondence between the Virginia AGs office and the offices of 13 other state attorneys general; and 170 pages that would provide insight into Cucinelli’s schedule, since he took office in January. McCullough said that the AGs office would not be releasing them, since the office considered them “working papers of the attorney general that are entitled to remain confidential.”

In a release yesterday, Cucinelli actually made the claim that all work “was being done in-house and said costs would be minimal beyond the $350 fee to file the suit in U.S. District Court.”

Color me skeptical, so much for government transparency. Taxpayers deserve to know the cost that is being accrued to fund Cucinelli’s personal political agenda, especially when the health care lawsuit has zero chance of being won. That’s right, ZERO!

Nevada’s Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto provided a good analysis in a letter to Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons on why joining Cuccinelli’s health care lawsuit was essentially pointless and “would not come without a cost.” When looking at Supreme Court precedence, AG Masto writes:

One theory to consider is that Congress lacks authority under the Constitution’s Commerce and Spending Clauses. However, the authority give to Congress is extensive and appears strong enough to support the Act. Health care costs affect our nation’s economy, and the Act is Congress’ answer to alleviating those costs. The United States Supreme Court long ago determined that insurance is commerce and is therefore subject to federal regulation. United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters Ass’n, 322 U.S. 533 (1944). Since the 1930s and the “long-rejected Louchner-era precedents,” MeadWestvaco Corp. ex rel. Mead Corp. v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue, 553 U.S. 16, 128 S.Ct. 1948, 1510 (2008) (Thomas, J. concuring), Congress’ broad authority has been acknowledge to, among other things, uphold mandatory contributions to the Social Security Act system, Helvering v. Davis, 301 U.S. 619 (1937), and legislate many other federal programs.

So while Cuccinelli and McDonnell defund our public education system (and make several other extreme cuts) they have no problems wasting taxpayer dollars to further their radical political agendas. Hey while national Republicans plan to “sweep problems under the rug,” Virginia Republicans have become masters at creating problems.  Where’s the TEA Party when you need them!

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By Marc, March 15, 2010 8:19 pm

As Not Larry Sabato has reported, a tape from a 2009 campaign event has surfaced that shows Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA) suggesting that President Obama was not born in America. Who knew that Cooch was a birther?!

Moments ago, David Mills (DPVA Executive Director) called out Cooch for his “extreme agenda” and this latest revelation:

Wow.  We knew Ken Cuccinelli was a right-wing ideologue. We even knew he denied the existence of a global climate change problem and that he wanted Virginia colleges to rescind protections against discrimination.

But it wasn’t until a tape from a 2009 campaign event was made public this morning that we learned just what our Attorney General is:  A BIRTHER.

That’s right, when asked about finding proof that President Obama was a U.S. Citizen, Ken Cuccinelli responded “Well… that’s a good question … Someone is going to have to come forward with nailed down testimony that he was born in place B, wherever that is. You know, the speculation is Kenya. And that doesn’t seem beyond the realm of possibility.”

With MSNBC, the Politico and other national organizations covering this story, the world is finding out what we have always known – Ken Cuccinelli’s priorities are out-of-whack.

[…]

Since taking office, Ken Cuccinelli has used his taxpayer-funded position as Attorney General to implement his social views. First, he sued the federal government over the existence of climate change.  Then just last week, he wrote a letter claiming Virginia state colleges and universities didn’t have the authority to enact their own non-discrimination policies. He’s pursuing one extreme, right-wing idea after another.

[…]

With your help, we can fight back against extremist Republicans in Virginia, and make sure our Attorney General is focused on the issues that matter to Virginians.

Sincerely,

Dave Mills

Cooch has issued the following response to the controversy:

I absolutely believe that President Obama was born in the United States. I don’t buy into the claims that he wasn’t. On the recording, I was asked a hypothetical legal question, and I gave a hypothetical legal answer in response.

As I said previously, this issue was not a part of my campaign, and it is not part of what I am doing now as attorney general.

The Cooch is full of you know what! How folks voted for this guy is beyond me.

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By Marc, March 8, 2010 7:08 pm

As the Survivor song goes, “The search is over, you were with me all the while.”  After a long (well, very long) search, it turns out that Democratic Party of Virginia’s new Executor Director is their now former Finance Director David Mills.

From the DPVA:

Like our big announcement for JJ last week, I wanted to let you know that our search for a new Executive Director is over before we send out the press release. David Mills has been named the new ED for DPVA. Dave was our Finance Director and has also worked raising money for Brian Moran’s campaign for Governor as well as for Creigh Deeds for Governor. I am very excited to continue to work with David as we build our party stronger…

Thanks for all you do,

Don

Blue Virginia predicted this one last week. Congratulations to Dave on his new position. We expect BIG things!