Newly unsealed FBI documents reportedly reveal that federal investigators believed a Virginia state senator may have accepted money in exchange for using his position to pursue pardons for criminals.
The documents center on Joe Morrissey, a disbarred attorney and longtime Democratic lawmaker who once ran for office from a jail cell while serving time for having sex with an underage girl who worked as his secretary. Morrissey was later pardoned by then-Gov. Ralph Northam just before Northam left office in 2022.
According to a June 2023 FBI search warrant that was unsealed last month after a two-year delay, investigators alleged that Morrissey charged money to seek pardons from Northam on behalf of inmates.
The affidavit states that “Senator Morrissey offers services to inmates and defendants through his business, Premier Jury Consulting Services, LLC.” The warrant notes that pamphlets for the business were available in multiple jail facilities around the Richmond area and featured Morrissey’s photograph with the caption “Senator Joe Morrissey.”
The business listed the same address as Morrissey’s Senate office and advertised his position in the Virginia General Assembly, including his service on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Promotional materials highlighted “success stories/testimonials” from individuals who were “pardoned, paroled, or released early from incarceration.”
In February 2023, Virginia State Police informed the FBI that they had evidence Morrissey “accepted a $15,000 payment from the father of a Virginia inmate in exchange for getting the Virginia Governor to pardon the inmate.”
According to the affidavit, the father said Morrissey initially sought $30,000 to secure a pardon from Northam. The father told investigators he could not afford that amount, and Morrissey allegedly agreed to pursue the pardon for $15,000.
The father met with Morrissey and an attorney in Morrissey’s office. The attorney reportedly told him the inmate had little chance of receiving a pardon because he had stabbed a law enforcement officer. The affidavit alleges Morrissey later met privately with the father and reassured him that he could secure the pardon, telling him officials would listen because he was a state senator.
In October 2020, the father wrote a $15,000 check to Premier Jury Consultants, in addition to $1,500 already paid. The receipt listed “Payment of: Jury Consulting/Legal Research.”
Emails reviewed by the FBI show Morrissey’s Senate aides used a Gmail account to communicate with the father while signing messages with their official legislative titles. Morrissey later sent correspondence on Senate letterhead to Northam’s chief of staff, Clark Mercer, and to Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson, referencing a Petition for Conditional Pardon he said he had hand delivered.
The affidavit states that Morrissey wrote to the inmate in May 2021, saying he had met with Mercer regarding 12 inmates he supported for release, including the individual in question.
The FBI sought access to Morrissey’s Gmail account, writing that “It appears Senator Morrissey engaged in bribery when he corruptly solicited $30,000 from Witness 1.” A judge granted the warrant, but Morrissey was never charged. The allegations had not been previously reported, and Morrissey did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
The affidavit does not state that Northam granted any of the specific pardons Morrissey sought. Northam issued more than 1,200 pardons, including one for Morrissey in January 2022 related to his conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Morrissey’s career has long been marked by controversy. In addition to his jail sentence and disbarment, he was previously indicted on bribery charges in the 1990s but acquitted. Despite his record, he later rose to the state Senate, where he held influence in a narrowly divided chamber before losing a 2023 primary.
The newly unsealed documents add another chapter to the turbulent political saga surrounding one of Virginia’s most controversial lawmakers.
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