Transcript of McDonnell Live Blog Interview

Thanks to Lumen’s concept of a Live Blog Interview, we were able to hold the first such live online interview with Attorney General Bob McDonnell. The Attorney General was gracious enough to answer our questions on everything from Regent University to his innovative sexual predator programs. Below is the transcript of this interview.

Also use this post as an open thread and leave us your comments on what you the reader thought of this interview.


Publius said...

Welcome Attorney General McDonnell and thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join us here on The Virginian Federalist. Lumen and myself have a few questions as well as some that have been submitted from our readers.

Our first question comes from a reader who wants to know how your family is doing, especially your daughter “Jeanine and if she's definitely going back to Iraq. I know we all keep up with her journey and wish her a safe return, if she has to make another tour.”

We continue to keep Jeanine and all of our military in our prayers, including our very own Lumen.

Bob McDonnell said...

Bob McDonnell here, sorry for the delay in getting here. We strive not to be tardy to events, so my apologies to Publius, Lumen and the rest of the editors at The Virginian Federalist.

Now, on to the first question:
. . . .

We are very proud of the service of 1LT Jeanine McDonnell, who returned from Iraq last October. We are waiting to hear whether she will go back in late summer. Our military is doing an outstanding job for the cause of freedom, sometimes without the proper understanding of their sacrifice.

Lumen said...

Your cooperation with Governor Kaine in handling the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings has been widely praised. What challenges have you faced, on this issue and others, in holding to your convictions as a conservative and a Republican while working with a Democratic Governor?

Bob McDonnell said...

As the attorney and counselor for the Governor of Virginia, among a host of other clients, I have a duty to ensure my office gives responsive and competent legal advice, apart from political considerations. Our professional career attorneys have done that very well. At the same time, as a statewide conservative leader I have strongly advocated various policy positions in the legislature, some of which have been opposed by the executive branch.

Virginians expect their statewide leaders to cooperate on matters that are important to Virginians. I believe the Governor is smart, and affable and has dealt with me very fairly.

At the same time I have not compromised the principles that I have embodied during my 16 years in public life. I think it’s important that elected officials stick to their philosophical beliefs, but do so amicably and professionally, so as to bring civility to the debate in the public square.

Publius said...

You announced today that Myspace has agreed to turn over the names of convicted sex offenders to the Attorney Generals office. This comes on the heals of your legislation to make Virginia the first state in the nation to require sex offenders to register their email addresses and other such “online identities.”

How do you balance the need to keep Virginia’s children safe with the privacy of “rehabilitated” individuals?

Also, how do you plan to implement this information in protecting Virginia’s Children?

Bob McDonnell said...

Individuals who have been convicted of a felony already lose certain privacy rights so long as they are on probation or parole. Additionally, there is significant clinical evidence concerning high rates of recidivism for convicted child sex offenders. Therefore, making sure that such convicted offenders stay off social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook, which are known to be frequented by children and young adults, is important when their conditions of parole or probation require them to stay away from children for these reasons.

Additionally, our legislation this year will enable us to provide the names of the nearly 14,000 convicted sex offenders in Virginia to Myspace and other sites. As a private entity they are free to block access to their sites by these offenders, as Myspace has indicated it will do.

With this new information received today, we will determine whether any of these individuals have violated their probation or parole.

This is a piece of the larger effort to protect children online and on the street, which has been my top priority as Attorney General.

Lumen said...

In recent weeks, several Virginia blogs have harshly criticized Regent University's law school, citing rankings in the "fourth-tier" of law schools and claiming that it produces lawyers with an agenda of intertwining church and state. Why did you choose to attend Regent Law School? How did it prepare you for the challenges of being Attorney General?

How does Regent incorporate faith into its curriculum and culture as compared to your undergraduate Alma Mater, the University of Notre Dame? Go Irish!

Bob McDonnell said...

I began my education with an undergraduate degree from Notre Dame, and Masters in Business from Boston University. After serving in the Army and working in business I decided to attend law school on the GI Bill. Regent University was one of the few places that continued to train lawyers in the manner begun in most of America's great law schools, with the integration of faith and learning.

As a Catholic, I am disappointed that anyone would criticize a person because they choose a faith-centered education. Our nation was founded by people of faith who gave us our Judeo-Christian heritage and much of our legal foundations.

Regent helped teach me the principles of respect and civility for my fellow man, and to follow the Golden Rule. I have attempted to do this in public life. I think ultimately, I will be judged on my service as Attorney General, just as all office holders are judged more on what they do in office, rather than what it says on their diploma.

Publius said...

Here is a question from one of our readers. Neil Miller asks:

“Dear General,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to the new media community. I noticed you recently led a new effort to get law firms to donate food to VA's food banks and that you have visited a number of homeless and recovery shelters in northern VA, Richmond and throughout the Commonwealth.
Why have you, unlike other Republicans in the past, taken such a compassionate interest in this all too often forgotten segment of our society, the poor and the hungry.

Thank you and God Bless.”

Bob McDonnell said...

As a conservative I believe it is the primary role of the individual, and private and faith based organizations to care for our less fortunate such as the hungry. Government can provide a safety net, but private organizations better provide love and nurture and friendship as well.

In regards to the Legal Food Frenzy, we are delighted with how well this year went. We raised the equivalent of over 530,000 meals for Virginians in need, and next year we aim to do even better.

Lawyers have been blessed by rewarding careers, both professionally and financially. We simply mobilized the legal community to focus on a very efficient charity, the Federation of Virginia Food Banks. If you're hungry you can't learn, and you can't succeed. If we do more to alleviate hunger, we free individuals to accomplish their dreams.

Lumen said...

This question relates to your very recent (about 5 minutes ago) appearance on Special Report with Brit Hume: Why did you push for a new law to prevent private investigators from conducting illegal "straw purchases" of guns as part of investigations of illegal gun sales affecting other states? Doesn't this new law serve to protect gun dealers who are violating the law? Why couldn't you prosecute private investigators using this tactic under previously existing laws against this method of purchasing guns?

Bob McDonnell said...

This was a matter involving the rights of states to control their own affairs, state sovereignty, and the proper manner by which public safety investigations should be conducted.

NYC contracted with unauthorized private agents to attempt simulated straw purchases in Virginia. The Department of Justice reviewed these actions and found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the Virginia gun dealers targeted. Further, they found the operations to be counterproductive to legitimate law enforcement operations, and create possible legal liabilities for the City of New York.

In response to these private unauthorized actions the Virginia GA passed, in a bipartisan manner, and Governor Kaine signed, without amendment, a bill clarifying Virginia law. Future actions of the kind engaged in by Mayor Bloomberg are now punishable as felonies in Virginia.

Virginia State Police does a great job enforcing our laws. We have a low crime rate, and we do so while maintaining a proper respect for the fundamental constitutional right to bear arms.

The proper way for states and cities to work together is through cooperation by law enforcement agencies. NY State law enforcement and VA law enforcement work together very well. I had a good conversation last week with my counterpart NY AG Andrew Cuomo pledging Virginia's continued cooperation with all legitimate public safety concerns.

Bob McDonnell said...

At this point I have to call it an evening and hustle over to my son's soccer game. I tried to stay an extra 10 minutes to make up for the delayed start.

My thanks to Publius, Lumen and the rest of the Virginian Federalist Team for your hospitality.

For all those reading this blog interview, thanks for your interest in Virginia politics and policy.

I'll see everyone next month as we continue to do at least one blog event a month. This is a great way to communicate with Virginians, and I look forward to it every time.

Publius said...

Thank you Attorney General McDonnell for your time. We hope your son does well.

Publius said...

This concludes our live blog interview here at The Virginian Federalist. Thank you to Attorney General McDonnell and all of those who viewed this interview. I am sorry that we did not get to more of our reader’s questions, but an hour goes by fast when blogging.