The Virginia House was right not to appoint 1st Gay Judge in 2012, CAV Case exposes Corruption in Governor's office

If hindsight was 20/20, eleven years ago the Virginia House of Delegates rejected the judicial nomination of a gay Richmond prosecutor, plunging the critical swing state into the middle of the national debate about the civil rights of gay Americans.

The prosecutor, Tracy Thorne-Begland, a former fighter pilot and Navy officer, failed to garner the majority of the 100-member House of Delegates that was required to secure the judgeship. Lawmakers in the House of Delegates voted 33 to 31 to support him, with 10 abstentions.

The highly controversial appointment of Judge Begland created an enormous media debate on why the “openly gay” Navy officer who violated the Navy’s policy and was dishonorably discharged from the Navy under the subsequent “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy should be a Virginia Judge.

Delegate Bob Marshall, a Republican from Prince William County, argued that those aspects of his biography meant that he would not be able to be impartial, and might even engage in activism, if he became a judge. Mr. Marshall, together with several fellow Republicans from his county, a number of them former military men, led the charge against Mr. Thorne-Begland.

“It’s about a pattern of behavior that is just notorious for homosexual advocacy,” Mr. Marshall said. He added that Mr. Thorne-Begland had misrepresented himself on his application for military service, joining the Navy despite the ban on homosexuals in service. “The fact that he defied his oath and could not have been candid on the application — that’s highly problematic, and it stays with you,” Mr. Marshall said.

As if Del. Bob Marshall had a crystal ball, his reasons behind opposing Begland's judgeship came true in August 2023 in a RVA Circuit Court case where three RVA judges are accused of treason by usurping the Supreme Court of Virginia's authority and conspiring to hold "kangaroo" hearings. Read Treason story

On August 10, 2023, Judge Tracy W. J. Thorne-Begland’s violated Title 18 U.S.C., Section 242 Deprivation Of Rights Under Color Of Law , Rules of the Virginia Code of Professional Conduct, and Judicial Canon III, Canon 1., Canon 2., and Canon 3. Judge Begland was obligated to recuse himself for having a conflict of interest with the Petitioner Nickolas Spanos. Spanos has pending ethics complaints against Judge Begland's solid supporters that pushed his judgeship nomination through in a 2nd vote in 2012. Read Richard Cullen and McGuireWoods support Gay Judge

Spanos filed ethics complaints against Richard Cullen, Chief legal advisor to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, former Delegate George Manoli Loupassi, and Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor, who is a LGBT activist with Judge Begland. The ethics complaints focused on a white nationalism doctrine that Cullen, Loupassi, Taylor, and other seven other high profile lawyers like James Comey and Howard C. Vick, operated in the Virginia Courts to protect affluent white businessmen and lawyers from being investigated and prosecuted in their involvement in a 600 kilo cocaine organization that operated in the RVA area for over ten years. Read Governor Youngkin's Legal Advisor Richard Cullen has pending Ethics Complaint for Promoting a White Nationalism Doctrine in Henrico Circuit Court

Judge Begland recognized that he was obligated to recuse himself, as he knew the connections between Spanos, Cullen, Comey, Vick, and other McGuireWoods attorneys. Yet, again he trashed his oath to protect the Constitution and entered vindictive orders against Spanos for exposing the white nationalism syndicate headed by Richard Cullen.

Retired Judge Balfour without being designated by the RVA Circuit Court or the Supreme Court of Virginia, presided over two cases that his close personal friend and business associate Robert Freed was a defendant in a $1.3 million fraud case. Both cases are pending in the Court of Appeals, where Freed and his clients are accused of committing extrinsic fraud on the court to obtain a $100,000 default judgment.

The lawyers representing the other defendants now have serious problems of their own, as they have been served with a RICO Civil claim outlining a pattern of racketeering concerning the cases in the RVA Circuit Court. Read High profile lawyers entangled in RICO Racketeering civil claim.