Payoff? Dem Gov Terry McAuliffe Gives Campaign Contributions to Wife of FBI Official Who Investigated Hillary

October 24, 2016

The Wall Street Journal reports Virginia’s Democrat Governor and Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe – who is currently under federal investigation for illegal campaign fundraising – gave political contributions to the wife of an FBI official who investigated Hillary Clinton over her email scandal.

While it is not unusual for a sitting office holder to give political contributions to members of their own Party, it does raise questions of impropriety and at the very least creates an aura of dishonesty and corruption, two distinctions that continue to plague McAuliffe’s career. Did McAuliffe give a payoff to Jill McCabe’s campaign as a reward for the FBI’s choice not to file charges against Hillary? Terry McAuliffe continues to be the king of shady deals.

The political organization of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, an influential Democrat with longstanding ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton, gave nearly $500,000 to the election campaign of the wife of an official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation who later helped oversee the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s email use.

Campaign finance records show Mr. McAuliffe’s political-action committee donated $467,500 to the 2015 state Senate campaign of Dr. Jill McCabe, who is married to Andrew McCabe, now the deputy director of the FBI.

The Virginia Democratic Party, over which Mr. McAuliffe exerts considerable control, donated an additional $207,788 worth of support to Dr. McCabe’s campaign in the form of mailers, according to the records. That adds up to slightly more than $675,000 to her candidacy from entities either directly under Mr. McAuliffe’s control or strongly influenced by him. The figure represents more than a third of all the campaign funds Dr. McCabe raised in the effort.

Mr. McAuliffe and other state party leaders recruited Dr. McCabe to run, according to party officials. She lost the election to incumbent Republican Dick Black. (Devlin Barrett, “Clinton Ally Aided Campaign Of FBI Official’s Wife,” Wall Street Journal, 10/23/2016)