The Trump Justice Department is proving that no one is above the law. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Thursday that seven people were taken into federal custody in a sweeping case. “This morning, seven individuals were arrested or surrendered for allegedly participating in a large-scale RICO drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy,” Blanche said. “One of those individuals is the President Pro Tempore of the Virginia State Senate.”
Blanche said a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned the indictment against all seven on Oct. 14. Senator L. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth is charged with five counts: racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.
The six other defendants include two of Lucas’s daughters and her grandson, according to the Attorney General. All seven are charged for the roles they allegedly played in what the indictment calls the “Lucas enterprise.” The defendants were in federal custody with an initial court appearance expected Thursday afternoon.
“The indictment alleges that Senator Lucas approved and directed criminal activities,” Blanche said, “that she arranged for the acquisition and distribution of marijuana, that she supervised the laundering of marijuana proceeds, and that she used her political influence to demand and accept a bribe and attempted to influence Virginia legislation for the benefit of herself and her family.”
The charges are allegations, and the defendants will have their day in court. But the message from President Trump’s Justice Department is unmistakable: public corruption will be pursued, no matter how powerful the officeholder.
