RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The judge in former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s corruption case says he will rule quickly on whether to allow limited testimony by a proposed expert defense witness.
McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, are charged in a 14-count indictment with accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from businessman Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting dietary supplements made by his company, Star Scientific Inc. Williams is expected to testify for the prosecution at the couple’s trial, which is scheduled to begin July 28.
The government has persuaded other courts to suspend evidence-gathering in two civil cases against Star until after the McDonnell trial. McDonnell wants an attorney to testify about how much those delays are worth to Williams.
U.S. District Judge James Spencer conducted a hearing on the issue Thursday.
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