The former Virginia governor whose conviction for taking $177,000 from a wealthy businessman was overturned by the Supreme Court said he didn’t see a problem when his wife gave him a pricey Rolex watch.
“My wife gave it to me for Christmas in 2012. With all my heart I believed it was from her. She told me it was from her ,” Robert McDonnell said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” during an interview that aired Sunday. ” I didn’t know what a Rolex cost to be honest. I’m a Seiko and Timex guy, and always have been. ”
McDonnell and his wife Maureen were convicted of taking golf clubs, luxury vacations, the use of a Ferrari, designer clothes and the $6,000 Rolex watch from Jonnie Williams, a Richmond businessman who was trying to get approval for a dietary supplement from the state.
He said he wouldn’t accept such gifts if he was governor now, but took them at the time because he felt he deserved it.
“Having a family vacation after working 15 hours a day at a nice lake resort with my family, you know, I appreciated that,” McDonnell said.
He chalked up his efforts to set up meetings so Williams could meet state officials as just a part of his duties as governor.
“My job was just to connect people with government. And I considered it a routine part of what I did – for job creation and just regular constituent service,” the Republican told “60 Minutes.”
McDonnell and his wife were indicted on federal public corruption charges 10 days after he left office in January 2014. They were convicted that September.
The Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling in June 2016 overturned the bribery conviction saying prosecutors failed to prove he took a direct “official action” in return for taking the gifts and loans from Williams.
But while Chief Justice John Roberts said prosecutors overreached, he blasted the McDonnells for their behavior.
“There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns,” Roberts wrote.