From the Mark Herring for Attorney General campaign (note: that’s Mark Obenshain pictured to the far right, appropriately enough, of the screen):
Leesburg – On Sunday, the Washington Post revealed Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s conflict of interest with tobacco and drug company Star Scientific. The Post reported that Cuccinelli failed to disclose substantial stock holdings in the company and then failed to recuse himself when the company sued Virginia over taxes it allegedly failed to pay to the state.
“The silence is deafening. Republicans Rob Bell and Mark Obenshain want to be Virginia’s Attorney General but are conspicuously silent over Ken Cuccinelli’s blatant conflict of interest,” Democratic candidate for Attorney General State Senator Mark Herring (Loudoun & Fairfax) stated. “Apparently for them, there are two sets of laws, a special one for Republican allies and another for the rest of Virginia. It’s time we get the politics out of the Attorney General’s office. Rob Bell and Mark Obenshain are not the people to do it.”
“Virginians deserve an Attorney General who will be a true guardian of the public interest and put the law first, not politics. As the people’s lawyer, it is imperative to avoid even the appearance of any conflict of interest and as Attorney General, I would have immediately recused myself from such a case,” Herring stated.
Herring then challenged his Republican opponents, Delegate Rob Bell and State Senator Mark Obenshain, to join him in his pledge to recuse themselves from cases if similar conflicts arise if they were to become Attorney General.
“Virginians also deserve to know where the candidates running to fill Ken Cuccinelli’s shoes stand. Do Delegate Bell and Senator Obenshain agree with Cuccinelli’s decision to double down on his conflict of interest, or would they put the best interest of Virginians first?” Herring stated.
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