Just like that, Rob McCord has fallen from the heights of PA elective office to eternal disrepute.
McCord issued a statement through his attorneys today that he will plead guilty to federal charges related to campaign finance and resign immediately. He had originally stated he would step down on Feb. 12th.
“Mr. McCord will be pleading guilty to certain federal charges to be filed arising out of his attempts in the spring of 2014 to raise campaign contributions from two potential contributors by communicating that if they failed to make campaign contributions, he could make it difficult for them to do business with the Commonwealth,” McCord’s attorneys Robert Welsh and Catherine Recker of Philadelphia wrote.
They went on to deny reports that their client stole or misused campaign funds.
“Immediately upon being contacted by federal agents about these matters, Mr. McCord acknowledged that he had overstepped the line of legitimate political fundraising,” they continued. “We expect that he will enter a guilty plea to federal charges to be filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in the near future.”
The fact that his original resignation was set for Feb. 12th, as well as the laudatory farewell from Gov. Wolf, suggests that McCord was hiding the cause of his decision to step down and did not tell anyone else the real reason.
The Governor’s spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan (who probably really would’ve like the truth about 24 hours earlier) delivered the following statement from Gov. Wolf:
“This is a sad day for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and for Rob McCord’s family. As elected leaders we should be stewards of democracy and we should act to protect hardworking taxpayers, not take advantage of them. This type of behavior leads to the erosion of the public’s trust – it is simply unacceptable. I stand firm in my commitment to restore the public’s trust in their government. Therefore, I will act as quickly as possible to present a nominee to the Senate of the highest caliber and capability.”
Update: McCord has released the following video statement (courtesy of WTAE-TV):
Update 2: McCord’s successor Christopher Craig has been sworn in:
Christopher Craig has taken oath and been sworn in, as of 4:35 p.m., in front of a group of Treasury employees
— Kate Giammarise (@KateGiammarise) January 30, 2015
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47 Responses
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Actually 4 of 6 statewide ELECTED officials are Democrats. For proof, please read the headline of this article.
It will soon be 3 of 6 when the AG sees the writing on the wall. Think she will come back stronger than ever? Tell me again about all those political comeback stories that are a result of indictments.
As for the governorship, the Corbett admin was a steaming pile of incapability. So congratulations, you beat the ’62 Mets and not even by that much. If you want to hang your hat on that, best of luck to you.
although I am not a great admirer of Bob Asher, it is wrong to implicate him as the cause of Bud Dwyer’s death…the guilty party was much higher.
How many People did Convicted Felon Robert Asher of Asher’s Candies shake down for State Contracts under Governor Corbett The First Person Corbett Called for on His First Election win for Governor was Convicted Felon Bob Asher who caused R Bud Dwyer To Shoot himself on Live TV Convicted Felon Asher Is a PA RNC Member when in fact he should be no where near any Politics Not even School Governent
to rob mcrod is a narc, I aint know what you tawkin bout I aint got no antcis or nothing like that, I is chris and I only say whuds on my mind , and you aint gotta think same things as me so there.,
@bungy and @kaneisnotable know nothing. 5 of 6 statewide elected officials are Democrats, and the Democratic nominee for President has won the last 6 contests in Pennsylvania (each one since 1988).
Responsible for the only GOP incumbent loss in the 2014 general election (and the only incumbent PA Governor to lose re-election in modern history, losing by 10%, in a huge GOP year nationally and in PA) is pretty embarrassing. Can’t win an election without districts in your favor? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Win an election for Governor, Attorney General, Auditor General, Treasurer, or the US Senate seat that isn’t a Toomey re-election and maybe your talk will mean something.
Last year, @bungy tried to convince everybody Tom Wolf would lose the primary and lose the general election by writing things like “more coming” and “just wait”. He’s called “Governor Wolf” now, so how did those predictions go? A year later, @bungy continues to write “more coming” and hopes bad news will break, without knowing anything. If he did know anything, he would write about it so he could thing he is more important.
I remember forecasting a Wolf win in the primary and general elections, even before he aired a single ad or a 2014 poll was released. But @bungy, you are even better at being wrong than I am at being right. How does that taste?
@Kane
The botched investigation/grand jury that you support has turned Kane into a victim. Good job buddy. Because of people like you A.G. Kane is going to be stronger than ever. I personally thank you. It’s almost too good to be true.
@Chris Martinez
We get it. You’re trying to be sarcastic and obvious. You’re antics were “interesting” last year, but it’s getting a little old at this point man. It’s a new year, maybe try something else. Everyone loves a comedy act, but yours is a bit last year.
all dem peoples sayin’ ron mcord has sumpin to do with pen state are wrong and they jest didn’t want him to stay as state tresherer,
Lol these Kane sycophants sound more and more like Penn State truthers. Blind fanatics completely unwilling to acknowledge the harsh truth.
@bungy
Trust me when I say that your plan to bring Kane down has backfired. Big time. You all thought you could do this and not raise any red flags has failed. Now, you will all be exposed. You’re absolutely right. It’s not over. In fact. Not only will the court rule in Kane’s favor, you’ll see multiple people be sued for libel and slander. I want to personally thank you, bc after the smoke clears Kathleen is going to be viewed as a hero taking on a corrupt old boys club. The Next time you guys calculate the right time and move to bring someone down, make sure you cross your T’s and dot your i’s. Epic fail on your part. Charges will be dismissed on Kane. Meanwhile, investigations have already begun into motive.
Davey She’s finished, trust Me. This BIG problem is not Her only problem. More coming. 40% of D statewide office holders are criminals. The voters will know.
Bungy
Grand jury doesn’t determine who is a criminal. Considering what a rubber stamp they are for flimsy cases, they count for zero.
D’s and R’s who break the rules should be punished, yes. However, I don’t think it’s fair of D. Diano to speak of Joe Sestak in the same breath. Sestak couldn’t defeat Toomey in Tea Party year 2010 after a money-exhausting primary race; but I can’t imagine Sestak ever doing anything against the Wolf code, and 2016 will not be 1020.
Money and politics. Wolf put in roughly $10 million of his own money. McCord who has plenty of his own money felt pressure to raise big bucks, and apparently – by his own admission – went down this wrong, illegal path. The question becomes how does the average person, who isn’t a millionaire or doesn’t have millionaire friends, compete? Guessing at this point – with the exception of the most local races where people actually know the candidates – the average Joe doesn’t even get in the race. A sad day for the party of inclusion.
Grand jury says 2.
Bungy
My count is one.
Two of the Five democratic statewide office holders are criminals. Can’t wait for those commercials to start running.
A shake down is a shake down. Making excuses for Mr McCord, pointing fingers at others and saying that’s the way it works does not solve the one remaining problem. The public’s view of the Democratic party and politics as a whole. Their view of us has been taken down to a much lower rung on the ladder to the sewer by Mr McCords actions and behavior. The other issue’s to look at are, how many other people got the shake down and paid Mr. McCord? Are they currently doing business with the state? Are they afraid to come forward? Has Mr. McCord been doing the shake down since he was first elected as Treasurer? All Vital questions, I doubt this is over. Just another gate in the future for us Dems, McCordgate.
What’s with the headline? He hasn’t plead guilty to anything because no charges have been filed. He said he INTENDS to plead guilty to something but we don’t know what that is, or any other details yet.
Lol at the notion this helps Kathleen Kane. It doesn’t. It does however make it that much worse for the party when a second statewide democrat leave office in disgrace.
@David Diano
Prison time is definitely likely. PA Attorney General Ernie Preate served nearly a year in jail after being convicted of campaign finance fraud, nothing associated with his role as Attorney General, like McCord, he was convicted of violations regarding his campaign.
HOWEVER, it’s not yet clear if McCord has plead guilty to take a deal. It’s also unknown exactly how many charges he will face. The case against him may have been so strong that he decided to plead guilty, or the more likely reason in line with his ego and arrogance would be that he took a deal to avoid prison time or for reduced prison time. Regardless, deal or no deal, I hope he will be forced to agree not to seek public office in the future, such as Gov. Blago had to do in Illinois. I’m sure a large fine is going to be involved either way and frankly, depending on the charges filed, a fair amount of prison time is definitely likely, especially if they want to make an example out of him.
So who wins and who loses.
WINNERS:
Kathleen Kane: Now out of the spotlight. I’ll admit I’m a supporter of Kathleen’s and I believe she will win this fight and make it through this storm stronger than ever before.
Tom Wolf: Can appoint a State Treasurer that he will be able to work with. Just think, McCord actually attacked Wolf’s character in the primary… Ironic!
Pennsylvania: The state is better off with crooks like McCord behind bars
LOSERS:
Rob McCord: Loser for life
Pennsylvania Democratic Party: Arguably one of the biggest losers in all of this, other than McCord of course, is the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, I’m not talking about PA Democrats, I’m referring to the actual “party” aka State Committee. People frequently over look the harm arrogant people like McCord cause especially in off year elections like these. It reminds me of another narcissist, Joe Sestak, who caused irreparable harm to the party when he gave up his otherwise safe house seat to primary Specter. The vast majority of State Committee members should be embarrassed and ashamed for supporting McCord and not seeing the signs of what was to come. Think about it for a moment. What if? McCord wins the primary, defeats Corbett and fresh off his defeat of Corbett, not even a month in office McCord has to resign. Imagine for a moment how damaging that would be to the party. You know this is a scenario Mike Stack has recently thought of. Thankfully, Pennsylvania Democrats rejected their own state committee members and Wolf won all 67 counties in the primary in what was a undeniable landslide victory.
Lastly, I have been posting online under the alias “Rob McCord is a Narcissist” going back well before the primary. None of this surprises me at all. I’ve long seen this coming and have always said that McCord takes the prize for arrogance. Many of you have compared my passionate views of McCord as the DD views Sestak. In the end it was McCord’s arrogance that brought him down. I, like many others, don’t believe his phony apology. His apology was as fake as the foliage behind him.
“Ding dong the witch is dead.”
One last thing that is completely unrelated. I want to personally thank Governor Wolf for already keeping so many campaign promises.
Among them:
-Governor Wolf has reinstated a moratorium on drilling in park and forests
-Governor Wolf has asked state legislators to send him a LGBT non-discrimination bill
-Governor Wolf signed two executive orders banning gifts to state employees and requiring a bidding process for outside legal contracts
Thank you Governor Wolf. I voted for you in the primary election, because I do indeed believe that you will bring a Fresh Start to our Commonwealth. I look forward to your leadership. I also look forward to building a new Democratic Party in Pennsylvania.
Great, the racist is back.
rich mcord aint done nothing wrong he being framed by enamies,
BTW, PennLive has a story that explains some of the potential charges, given what has been alleged.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/01/charges_could_be_filed_against.html
George R-
Rich Sestak was working for McCord, but as an organizer, not a fundraiser. I know this because at the time I was talking to friends who were approached to work on the campaign, and they didn’t want to work with a Sestak as their regional coordinator. Rich was never high enough up the food chain or enough of a player to an inside man on something like this. Rich was never “chief” of anything, let alone fundraising.
I always felt there were two reason Rich was on the McCord campaign:
1) A deal between Joe Sestak and McCord for mutual support
2) A Sestak ploy to gather contacts, donors, staff, volunteers for Sestak’s campaign. And, if a little data gotten stolen .. um.. accidentally copied… I would not be shocked.
LET US NOT FORGET THAT JOE SESTAK’S BROTHER WAS MCCORD’S CHIEF FUNDRAISER AT THIS TIME…
McCord has no shame. McCord is all about McCord and doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone else in this world. He is such an arrogant fuck. The Feds nailed him and his lawyers negotiated a plea deal for no jail time and he is in damage control mode. He’s the kind of guy that will act like he’s your best friend and then fuck your wife.
Narcissist-
Prison
or
HUGE fine and time served plus a lot of community service?
Is prison mandatory for this, or can he avoid prison with a plea deal?
I wonder if it was only McCord that strong armed the donors or if any of his campaign team did as well. Could be over or just beginning.
Rob McCord is one sick man.
@David Diano
You’re absolutely right. He’s still campaigning even when he’s headed to prison. His arrogance continues to bring him down. He is literally his own worst enemy. That “apology video” is completely phony and disgusting. He’s seeking pity and wants people to feel bad for him. Watch the video, watch his mannerisms. He’s acting throughout the entire video. He’s not sorry at all. He’s sorry he got caught.
This is a must read article on McCord’s fall published today by John L. Micek of PennLive/Patriot News:
http://blog.pennlive.com/capitol-notebook/2015/01/rob_mccords_fall_a_reminder_th.html#incart_related_stories
It really is a must read! Great insight into this man’s arrogance, which ultimately brought him down.
Ricdw
He didn’t really “own up”. This fake contrition isn’t worth a damn.
24 hrs earlier he was resigning, claiming to “return to the private sector” rather than a “private cell”.
He got caught so red handed that he’s pleading guilty and taking a deal. This little “apology” is either part of the deal, or a further attempt to fool any remaining supporters.
He knew all this yesterday and could have come clean about his resignation and the real reasons behind it. Maybe he got tipped off by a reporter seeking to confirm the investigation, and realized the jig was up, so he concocted a thin excuse designed to last a few hours.
This happens more that you know.
Waiting for the “the Republicans framed him” chorus to kick in . . .
@Andrew Blum, the world seeks comment:
Andrew Blum says:
January 29, 2015 at 11:23 am
Thank you to Mr. McCord for his service to the Commonwealth, I think we are all in his debt for his stellar service as state treasurer. I for one wish him the best in his future endeavors, whatever they may be.
Second for what Carl Johnson wrote: I too was struck that nowhere does writer Nick Fields mention the political party of this disgraced bully. Nick was and apparently still is a political operative first and a fair minded reporter of fact last, if at all. McCord was erratic from the get-go, and for some reason politics seems to attract and reward people like him. But he won’t be missed.
Never good, but he owned up to his actions rather promptly. There’s something in that.
I’m concluding that McCord must be a democrat since it’s never mentioned in the article. If he was a republican it would have been in the headline and at least 10 times in the article.
I so love how the pure in heart Christians salivate over another persons misdeeds. Sad behavior.
Must read article on McCord’s arrogance by John L. Micek of PennLive/Patriot News:
http://blog.pennlive.com/capitol-notebook/2015/01/rob_mccords_fall_a_reminder_th.html#incart_related_stories
Wow, I knew McCord was nefarious and slick, but this is another level… but what am I saying, this is PA! Yes, McCord has a Fumo retread in his office, and his former Chief of Staff John Lisko was in Rick Mariano’s office. It’s also telling that you have Lisko, with no investment fund experience whatsoever, serving as the CIO of $20 billion+ … great leadership, Mr. McCord… the office is staffed with toadies and strong-arms. What goes around, comes around…
McCord’s Facebook Statement: “It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania as their elected State Treasurer for the past six years. But with my goals at Treasury now achieved – and with a new governor now in office to appoint my successor – it is time for me to return to the private sector.”
I’m glad to see a perp walk out of the Treasurer’s Office was his goal at Treasury.
Christopher Craig was part of the shakedown operation Vince Fumo ran against PECO and Verizon. No wonder he’s McCord’s intended successor!
Who were the two that contacted the feds? I wonder how many more he strong armed that did not have guts to come forward.
And now, finally and officially, Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth can take a collective sigh of relief that we won’t have to endure another divisive, self-imploding campaign from this arrogant, self-centered man. His political career, without a doubt, is over!
“Ding dong the witch is dead”