Yesterday was the soap opera, with dramatic statements of crushes and implications of an illicit relationship. Today was nowhere near as salacious. The prosecution ended the day with its star witness, Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams, testifying about his “purely business” relationship with the McDonnells. He needed the Governor to get the university researchers to get interested in his Anatabloc; he needed to get it approved for payment through the state health insurance plan. And Maureen McDonnell, he claims, made it clear that there was going to be a quid pro quo, as quoted in the Washington Post:
For $65,000, he testified, Maureen McDonnell said she would help his company, with her husband’s blessing.
“She said to me, ‘I have a background in nutritional supplements, and I can be helpful to you with this project with your company,” Jonnie R. Williams Sr. testified, describing a private meeting with Maureen McDonnell in the governor’s mansion in May 2011. “ ‘The governor says it’s okay for me to help you, but I need you to help me with this financial situation.’ ”
