2013 CAMPAIGN DONATIONS QUESTIONED McAuliffe focus of federal probe

BY ANDREW CAIN • Richmond Times-Dispatch The FBI is investigating Gov. Terry help his friend, Democratic front-runner McAuliffe over donations to his 2013 gu- Hillary Clinton, carry Virginia, a key swing bernatorial campaign. state. According to CNN, the governor is the It also comes as the U.S. Supreme Court subject of an ongoing investigation by the is preparing its ruling on former Gov. Bob FBI and prosecutors from the public in- McDonnell’s appeal of his 2014 corrup- tegrity unit of the Justice Department. tion convictions. There is no indication The report of the investigation comes that the investigation of McAuliffe is fo- less than six months before the presiden- cusing on his term as governor. tial election in which McAuliffe hopes to MCAULIFFE, Page A8

VIRGINIA’S NEWS LEADER BOB BROWN/TIMES-DISPATCH

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QUESTIONS FOR VITA Va. Republicans sue governor One switch’s over mass restoration of rights failure threw GOP lawsuit petitions state supreme court and Senate Majority Leader executive order defies the Thomas K. Norment Jr., plain text of the Constitu- to stop implementation of executive order R-James City, argues that tion, flouts the separation state agencies McAuliffe exceeded his ex- of powers, and has no prec- BY JIM NOLAN McAuliffe’s authority to ecutive authority under the edent in the annals of Vir- Richmond Times-Dispatch order a mass restoration state constitution when he ginia history. The governor out of service of rights April 22, covering issued the order. RIGHTS, Page A7 Republicans in the Vir- more than 200,000 felons “The Constitution of Vir- BY MICHAEL MARTZ ginia General Assembly who served their time. ginia forbids this unprece- Richmond Times-Dispatch filed a lawsuit Monday in The lawsuit, led by dented assertion of executive Eligibility to vote in primary the Supreme Court of Vir- Speaker of the House Wil- authority,” the filing states. Felons awaiting verification may One switch failed at the Commonwealth ginia challenging Gov. Terry liam J. Howell, R-Stafford, “Governor McAuliffe’s still qualify, official says.Page A8 Enterprise Solutions Center in Chester, and the computer network that serves almost all Virginia executive branch agencies, in- cluding the bustling Department of Motor Vehicles, went dark Saturday morning. NEWEST STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE By noon, five hours later, service had been restored to affected agencies, thanks to a repair using a part from a test system by Northrop Grumman, which owns and operates the data center serving the vast state bureaucracy. But the company and its state overseer, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, still are looking for answers about why the part failed and why the backup SWITCH, Page A9

Officer cleared of all charges in latest Freddie Gray trial

BY JULIET LINDERMAN The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — Prosecutors failed for a sec- ond time in their bid to hold Baltimore po- lice accountable for the arrest and death of Freddie Gray when an officer was acquit- ted Monday. The racially charged case triggered riots a year ago. A judge cleared officer Edward Nero of BOB BROWN/TIMES-DISPATCH assault, reckless endangerment and mis- Amy E. McCullough tried to quiet her son, Andrew, 2, as her husband, Stephen R. conduct, concluding that Nero played little McCullough, took the oath of office as a Virginia Supreme Court Justice from Chief Justice role in Gray’s arrest and wasn’t responsible for the failure to buckle the man into the po- Donald W. Lemons (right, standing) during the swearing-in ceremony at the court’s chamber lice van, where he suffered a broken neck. in Richmond on Monday. (Details, Page B1) Upon hearing the verdict, Nero hugged G RAY, Page A9

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