Chris LaCivita's Memo

The following is a Memo from Chris LaCivita, Strategist for the Cuccinelli for Governor campaign.

"Headed into the first statewide televised debate, Terry McAuliffe has set a low bar for the depths of dishonesty he will stoop to.

McAuliffe’s first debate performance was marred by his patently false claims that he was forced to immediately recant after huddling with his staff. Now, on the heels of a devastating new media report, McAuliffe’s latest lie has been exposed even before he takes the stage. Time and again, McAuliffe has brushed away any and all questions regarding his tenure at GreenTech Automotive by suggesting a total separation from the company last December. Now we know definitively that such claims were utterly false.

A memo, revealed in today’s Washington Post, clearly implies to investors that McAuliffe remains involved with the company and would only complete his departure should voters choose to entrust him with the governorship. In other words, not only is McAuliffe still involved in the company; GreenTech is also using his ongoing involvement to encourage investors to take part in the deeply flawed enterprise.

For months, in front of rolling cameras and digital recorders, McAuliffe has perpetuated the myth that he no longer has any affiliation with GreenTech. As the investigations into his current company continued to mount, McAuliffe stood before members of the Virginia press corps at various points saying:

“I left the company in December” … “I left GreenTech in early December” … “All I know is that I left the company.”

This led many to report that “[McAuliffe] left the company last year.”

As Terry McAuliffe tries to gain the trust of Virginia voters, his lies to the individuals who report on the campaign in newspapers and on their air waves throughout the Commonwealth are shocking. When it suited him, Virginians were led to believe McAuliffe had built a massive company that would create thousands of jobs. When the shine wore off, his story changed and all of us were led to believe that he couldn’t be held responsible for delinquent taxes, offshore accounts and two ongoing federal investigations because he no longer had anything to do with the company.

But now we learn he was always involved in GreenTech Automotive and what he and company officials sold as a resignation was a lie. It was nothing more than a change in title and he is still involved in a corporation that the federal government is investigating for actions that occurred during his tenure, which in fact, never ended.

During the days leading up to Wednesday’s debate, the integrity of every word McAuliffe utters must be questioned. He must be held accountable for his willing deceitfulness and false statements. The lies he’s peddled have been reported in every newspaper and on every television news program in the Commonwealth. Now it’s time for Terry McAuliffe to be held responsible.

But it’s not just his deception on GreenTech that has McAuliffe on the defensive heading into the debate. Other issues – particularly policy matters – have given way to troubling errors by McAuliffe.

Despite getting called out by The Washington Times earlier in the week and the Richmond Times-Dispatch today, McAuliffe continues to believe that as governor he would have powers that he would not. The Washington Post editorial board even called his planned spending increases using Medicaid dollars neither “sustainable” nor “realistic.” Notwithstanding the fact that he had months to prepare an answer, McAuliffe dodged questions about new coal plants and the devastating impacts on Virginia of the Obama Administration’s effective ban on new coal-fired plants.

Finally, his allies tried to bully the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s political arm because they found McAuliffe’s lack of seriousness and lack of knowledge to be inferior to Ken Cuccinelli’s detailed understanding and clear vision for Virginia’s future. McAuliffe claims no knowledge of the intimidation, but given what we now know about his non-departure from GreenTech, can anyone believe that?

Terry McAuliffe exists in a bubble where truth has no meaning, fantasy is rampant and tough questions can be answered by reminding folks that he paved driveways when he was fourteen.

McAuliffe is not prepared to become the next chief executive of the Commonwealth. He has never fought for anyone other than himself. He lacks the character to serve the people of Virginia."