Cuccinelli paid $30,000 advance for forthcoming book

RICHMOND — Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II was paid a $30,000 advance for his forthcoming book and hunted and attended a football game with a Texas GOP super donor last year, according to the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s 2012 personal finance disclosure.

Financial disclosure reports submitted by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) and Cuccinelli reveal a glimpse of their finances, but much of the reporting is vague, lacking information like dates or specifics for gifts and trips.

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McDonnell did not report any additional income for 2012. Bolling reported an additional $5,600 for work with health insurance consulting firm Riggs, Counselman, Michaels and Downes.

Cuccinelli’s only additional income was from Crown Publishing, which is listed as the publisher of his book, “The Last Line of Defense: The New Fight for American Liberty,” set for a Feb. 12 release.

For 2012, McDonnell reported 15 gifts, trips or events valued at more than $50, totaling $85,990. Bolling reported 35 gifts totaling $15,198. Cuccinelli reported six gifts at $8,633.

One of those gifts for Cuccinelli was a trip to Texas last year to spend a weekend with Foster Friess, an investor and supporter of conservative Christian causes who backed GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum in 2012.

According to Cuccinelli’s disclosure form, the weekend was valued at $8,056. No further information was reported.

Friess grabbed headlines during the presidential campaign for controversial comments about contraception. In an interview last February, Friess said, “You know, back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraception. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.”

McDonnell reported few gifts last year and far fewer than his recent predecessors. Among the gifts he disclosed are a $25,000 flight to Puerto Rico for a Republican Governors Association event paid for by Virginia Tech board of visitors member John G. Rocovich Jr.; two flights paid for by radio mogul Sima Birach valued at more than $17,000; and suite tickets to a Washington Redskins game valued at $19,000.

Among the gifts reported by Bolling was airfare valued at $3,750 to the University of Charleston paid by the law firm of Moss and Rocovich. Bolling, a 1979 graduate, was the college’s 2012 commencement speaker. The Southern Virginia Regional Alliance paid $3,090 for a trip to Primland that included dinner and race tickets.

McDonnell and Bolling declined to comment, and Cuccinelli’s office did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

In Virginia, officeholders are required to file the annual forms by Jan. 15. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe will have to file similar reports beginning later this spring.

The disclosures were compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.