Bob McDonnell's appointee Doug Domenech had connection with convicted felon Jack Abramoff

Virginia Governor-elect, Bob McDonnell. He has chosen Doug Domenech to be
the state secretary of natural resources even though Domenech had ties to convict
Jack Abramoff who worked closely with religious right leaders like Ralph Reed
in scams that cheated American Indian tribes out of millions of dollars. (AP
Photo/Steve Helber)

Virginia's governor-elect Bob McDonnell has chosen former George W. Bush administration official Doug Domenech to be the state secretary of natural resources. Domenech's past connections with convicted felon Jack Abramoff may become problematic for McDonnell and Domenech.

Doug Domenech worked for the Department of the Interior during the George W. Bush administration. While Domenech was the White House's liaison to the Department of the Interior he worked to make sure things ran smoothly for soon to be convicted felon and political influence peddler Jack Abramoff. George W. Bush's White House wanted to please Jack Abramoff due largely to Abramoff's connections to the religious right and its leaders like Pat Robertson protege Ralph Reed and Focus on the Family leader James Dobson. As White House liaison to DOI, Domenech made sure Abramoff got what he wanted.

Former Bureau of Indian Affairs official Wayne Smith reported to the Denver Post that Doug Domenech said, "we had to pay attention to Abramoff, because otherwise the religious right and Reed are going to come up and bite us, and our whole base will go crazy. They will light up our phones, shut down our phone lines."

Smith went on to say that Abramoff friend Italia Federeci would call Domenech to relay Abramoff's messages. Smith said, "Doug would come down and say, 'Italia called and Jack wants this.' That's how it all happened internally."

Does McDonnell really want a yes-man to Jack Abramoff to protect Virginia's beautiful and vital natural resources? Does McDonnell's appointment of Domenech foreshadow underhanded ties with Abramoff's partner-in-scam and religious right leader Ralph Reed? Do Virginians want their Jeffersonian separation of church and state undermined by such cowardly figures?