Politics

Anti-Gay Group Head Eugene Delgaudio Sanctioned By Board Of Supervisors In Virginia

LEESBURG --  Eugene Delgaudio, an elected Virginia county supervisor who also runs the vehemently anti-gay non-profit organization, Public Advocate of the United States, has been formally censured by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in the wake of a special grand jury report that suggested he misused county funds and his staff.

After two hours of debate Wednesday, Delgaudio was stripped of any power to serve on standing committees or regional partnership organizations, and his district office funds were shifted to the budgetary control of the full board, and his staff funds were also taken away. He will be given enough funding to pay for an iPad or iPhone so he can communicate with his constituents. Elected four times, he has 2 1/2 years left in his current term.

The special grand jury investigation into allegations that Delgaudio misused Loudoun County resources for personal and political gain came after one of his staffers told the Washington Post she was often carrying out fundraising duties for the supervisor instead of working on constituent services. 

According to the Loudon Times Mirror,  that grand jury, which concluded its investigation in late June, did not bring an indictment against Delgaudio, but did take the “extraordinary” step,” of issuing a final overview recapping was discovered through the process.

In one instance, a witness told the grand jury Delgaudio's aides were told by their boss to report directly to an executive assistant of Public Advocate of the United States. Delgaudio's Public Advocate has been designated an anti-gay “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Delgaudio himself begged the board to delay a censure vote and instead have a 3-member committee look into the allegations. He protested the board's action.

"I have had assurance that if there is not criminality this is over. Where is your sense as Americans?" said Delgaudio
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House Republican Leadership Abandons DOMA Defense In Ongoing Cases

WASHINGTON -- After spending more than $3 million dollars defending the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) announced today it will stop defending the law in several ongoing court challenges. Lawyers for BLAG announced Thursday that in light of the June 26 Supreme Court ruling in Windsor v. U.S., they are withdrawing their legal defense of DOMA.

From the filing today:

"The Supreme Court recently resolved the issue of DOMA Section 3’s constitutionality. See United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. __ (2013), 2013 WL 3196928 (U.S. June 26, 2013). The Windsor decision necessarily resolves the issue of DOMA Section 3’s constitutionality in this case. 

While the question of whether 38 U.S.C. § 101(3), (31) is constitutional remains open, the House has determined, in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Windsor, that it no longer will defend that statute. Accordingly, the House now seeks leave to withdraw as a party defendant."

When asked for comment, House Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel, told BuzzFeed “The document from the legal team speaks for itself,” referring to Thursday's filing in U. S. District Court in Massachusetts.

U. S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns had directed lawyers for all parties in a lawsuit addressing the rights of service members and veterans and their same-sex spouses to give “any reasons why judgment should not enter for plaintiffs in this case,” following the Supreme Court’s June 26 decision striking down Section 3 of DOMA. The deadline for response was Thursday.

The plaintiffs, Army National Guard Major Shannon McLaughlin and her wife challenged two statutes in Title 38 of the U.S. Code regarding veterans’ benefits that define “spouse” as “a person of the opposite sex.”

McLaughlin and her wife were represented by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and the law firm of Chadbourne and Park.

Through counsel, McLaughlin and her wife argued that the decision in Windsor’s case controls the outcome in their suit and that Stearns was obligated as such to rule in their favor.

Late Thursday afternoon, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, called for immediate cessation of defending all pending similar cases involving BLAG and the House GOP leadership.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling is clear. Rather than trying to delay justice for particular married gay and lesbian couples and their families, Speaker Boehner should immediately file motions to end House Republicans’ involvement in the remaining cases and stop spending taxpayer dollars to defend unconstitutional discrimination.”