The GOP has a candidate for Roanoke Commissioner of the Revenue: Roger Malouf, a real estate broker and member of the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals. Here’s the story.

Roanoke congressman Bob Goodlatte was back at the center stage of national controversies as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Judiciary Committee. (Goodlatte is chairman of the committee).

Goodlatte said he wanted to hear from Holder about why  the Justice Department obtained telephone records for more than 20 Associated Press reporters and editors over a two-month period.

“These requests appear to be very broad and intersect important First Amendment protections,” he said.

After commending the FBI, which Holder oversees and other law enforcement agencies that apprehending the two brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon, Goodlatte said he was concerned about reports that several different agencies had had received intelligence about the bombers.

“These agencies did not connect the dots – and this is not the first time this has happened in recent years,” he said. “The question that the Administration and we in Congress need to address is whether there are any improvements that can be made going forward to facilitate inter-agency information sharing, so that we can better thwart future domestic terrorists.”

Goodlatte said he also wanted to hear about ways the Department of Justice plans to cut costs, noting that he’s see reports the department pays for costly entertainment and duplicative programs.

“I am also deeply concerned about a pattern I see emerging at the Department under your leadership in which conclusions reached by career attorneys after thorough investigation are overruled by Administration appointees for political reasons,” he said.  He mentioned a quashed appeal of a Minnesota case involving the fair housing, as well as a New York Times report that political appointees at the Department decided to commit as much as $4.4 billion in taxpayer money to compensate thousands of farmers who had never claimed bias in court, over objections of career attorneys.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has recused his office from representing Gov. Bob McDonnell in matters related to theft charges against the Executive Mansion’s former chef and hired a team of five private lawyers.

Attorneys from the Richmond firm of Eckert Seamans headed by Democratic former Attorney General Tony Troy will be legal counsel to McDonnell in his official capacity and his office in the pending embezzlement case against Todd Schneider.

In a letter dated today, assistant Attorney General Ellen Porter cited “the practical conflict” arising from Cuccinelli’s ties to Jonnie Williams, the same businessman who also lavished gifts on McDonnell and his family.

The story is here.

Curious about Cuccinelli’s ties to Williams? For background, look here and here.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling is setting up a new political action committee with the mission of electing what he calls mainstream Republicans.

The PAC, called the Virginia Mainstream Project, will also promote what Bolling described as responsible policy solutions to Virginia’s challenges.

The PAC will recruit, advise and support candidates for state and local office, particularly for the House of Delegates in 2013 and the State Senate in 2015.

Its policy emphasis will be on fiscal policy, economic development, tax reform, education reform, transportation and health care.

Bolling has transferred the remaining assets from his campaign committee to the Virginia Mainstream Project and will be raising additional funds to help support the important work of this new initiative.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli still won’t say if he ever chatted with his friend Jonnie Williams about a $1.7 million tax bill owed by Williams’ company. Williams gave Cuccinelli and Gov. Bob McDonnell $35,000 in gifts since their election to their current offices, and Star gave $79,000 to McDonnell’s PAC after the election. Here’s what Cuccinelli said yesterday.

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s approval rating dipped to the lowest point in his term of office. The Quinnipiac University poll came in the wake of disclosure that the FBI is asking questions about McDonnell’s relationship with Jonnie Williams, the CEO of Glen Allen-based Star Scientific Inc., a former tobacco-products company under a federal securities investigation and the subject of three shareholders’ lawsuits. The details are here.

It’s official. Roanoke’s city council will hear public comments about the proposed 28.5 percent rate for council members and 15 percent boost for  the mayor at its regular meeting on May 20 at 7 p.m.

The council also will hear comments when it meets at 2 p.m. on June 3, when it is scheduled to vote on the matter.

Both meetings will be in the Council Chambers, 4th Floor, Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building, 215 Church Avenue, S.W.

Al Bedrosian will be the GOP nominee for the Hollins district seat on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. The story is here.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, and Rep Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, each called for accountability in the matter Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups.

Goodlatte said he had heard from western Virginia Tea Party organizations about the issue last year and asked the IRS commissioner to look into the matter.

“The IRS is required to remain non-partisan in the enforcement of America’s tax laws. This kind of targeting based on political views, whether conservative or liberal, is inappropriate and a violation of the constitutional rights of these groups,” Goodlatte said.

“It is clear that the Administration is doing little to instill trust in the federal government and owes the American people a thorough investigation of this matter,” he added.

Griffith said in addition to Tea Party groups the pro-Israel group known as Z Street reported that they also received similar negative treatment.

“I am very disturbed by the purposeful targeting of any group by the IRS, whether it is conservative or liberal.” He said. “I will monitor the situation closely as it continues to unfold, and work to ensure that the IRS is held accountable for this shocking violation of the trust of the American people.”

Curious to know if anyone in the Office of the Attorney General talked to the biotech firm CEO who gave $35,000 in gifts to the governor and the attorney general about the $1.7 million in taxes the company owed? Or for that matter if the governor and the AG or any of their staff exchanged thoughts on the subject?

Turns out, finding out would likely cost plenty – since lawyers in the Office of the Attorney General office bill at $53.65 an hour to look through their files and emails.  And they set a thorough, deliberate pace, it seems. (The governor’s working papers are exempt from FOIA, and the tax department says its records about Star are, too)

It took, after all, six pages for senior assistant attorney general James Schliessmann to explain the challenges that would likely force the office to charge at least $14,400 to track down those records.

And it was on page 6 of his response to a Freedom of Information Act request for records about the Office’s records on the Star Scientific tax dispute that he advised the bulk of those records, once located, probably couldn’t be released because they are subject to attorney-client privilege. (An Office of Attorney General spokesman later hastened to correct any misapprehension that Williams or Star were considered clients of the attorney general or his staff.)

Schliessmann, after advising that the Office of the Attorney General is “dedicated to open government,” suggested narrowing the scope of the FOIA request.

So the Roanoke Times has. We’re asking for any records about Cuccinelli’s communications with Star CEO Jonnie Williams – which were included in our original request, part of what Schliessmann had suggested would cost so much to track down. We’re also asking about any records kept in state offices about Cuccinelli’s stays in Williams’ mansion and vacation home, or about his investment of nearly $20,000 in the company’s stock, roughly half of which came after Star sued the state. (Cuccinelli has said he found out about the lawsuit long after he made his investment.)

We’ve suggested that still unanswered questions about any discussions Cuccinelli may have had with Williams about the tax issue might make these records important enough that the attorney general might forgo a $53.65 an hour bill. And, just to speed things up, we did remind the office of Williams’ email address.

We’ll keep you posted. Cuccinelli’s PR people, both in the office and with the campaign, never would give a yes or no answer to our (much repeated) question about whether he and Williams had ever discussed the tax issue. The story about that is here. We’re hoping a check with the files will help find an answer.