联邦当局起诉了弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员路易斯·卢卡斯和几名家庭成员及合伙人，指控他们涉嫌长达一年的大麻走私阴谋腐败调查。
82岁的卢卡斯长期以来一直是弗吉尼亚州政界的一股强大力量，此前他曾领导过联邦重划选区的工作被州最高法院推翻今年早些时候。
但在周四公布的一份45页的全面起诉书中，检察官指控她利用她的立法办公室，通过医用大麻药房业务帮助支持一个“犯罪企业”，罪名包括敲诈勒索、洗钱、贩毒和欺诈。娱乐性大麻分销目前在弗吉尼亚州是不合法的。
起诉书指控卢卡斯和其他六人，包括卢卡斯的两个女儿和一个孙子，安排购买和销售超过100公斤的大麻，并清洗利润——卢卡斯涉嫌利用她作为弗吉尼亚州参议院临时议员和财政和拨款委员会主席的角色来保护她的活动免受审查。
据DOJ一名官员称，卢卡斯于周四上午向当局自首。
消息人士此前告诉ABC新闻，联邦腐败调查可以追溯到拜登政府，自今年5月美国联邦调查局对卢卡斯的办公室和她拥有的一家医用大麻药房进行搜查以来，联邦腐败调查就一直为人所知。
在周四的新闻发布会上，司法部长托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）试图反驳任何指控，称起诉是出于政治动机。
“我们不做政治回报，”布兰奇说。“这项调查早在首席助理联邦检察官开始工作之前就已经开始了——早在我开始在这里工作之前，早在主任（卡什）帕特尔成为美国联邦调查局主任之前，早在川普总统再次当选之前就已经开始了。”
布兰奇还被问及司法部在选举后60天内不采取公开调查措施的不成文做法是否被纳入公告，因为卢卡斯的女儿是即将举行的选举中的积极候选人。也被起诉了。
布兰奇曾担任特朗普总统的辩护律师，他引用了60天规则进行批评对特朗普的指控前特别顾问杰克·史密斯在2024年大选前淡化了该规则对司法部在本案中的指控决定的影响。
“司法手册非常清楚地说明了司法部能做什么和不能做什么。如果我们的目的不正当，我们就不能提出指控，这个目的没有什么不正当的，”布兰奇周四说，并补充说卢卡斯本人还没有准备竞选连任。
Virginia state lawmaker who led redistricting push indicted by DOJ in marijuana trafficking conspiracy
Federal authorities have indicted Virginia Democratic state Sen． L． Louise Lucas and several family members and associates on charges stemming from a yearslong marijuana trafficking conspiracy andcorruption probe．
Lucas， 82， has long been a powerful force in Virginia state politics and previously spearheaded the commonwealth＇s redistricting effort which wasreversed by the state＇s Supreme Courtearlier this year．
But in a sweeping 45-page indictment unsealed Thursday， prosecutors accuse her of using her legislative office to help support a ＂criminal enterprise＂ through a medical marijuana dispensary business with charges ranging from racketeering， money laundering， drug trafficking and fraud．Recreational marijuana distribution is not currently legal in Virginia．
The indictment charges Lucas and six others， including Lucas＇ two daughters and a grandson， with arranging for the purchase and sale of more than 100 kilos of marijuana， and laundering the profits -- with Lucas allegedly using her role as the Virginia Senate pro-tempore and chair of the Finance and Appropriations committee to shield her activities from scrutiny．
Lucas self-surrendered to authorities Thursday morning， according to a DOJ official．
The federal corruption probe， which sources previously told ABC News dated back to the Biden administration， has been known since May of this year when the FBI carried out searches of Lucas＇ office and a medical marijuana dispensary business she owned．
In a news conference Thursday， Attorney General Todd Blanche sought to rebut any accusations that the indictment was politically motivated．
＂We don＇t do political paybacks，＂ Blanche said． ＂This investigation has been going on long before the U．S． attorney， the first assistant， started her job -- long before I started my job here， and long before Director ［Kash］ Patel became the FBI director， it started long before President Trump was reelected．＂
Blanche was also pressed on whether the Justice Department＇s unwritten practice of not taking overt investigative steps within 60 days of the election was factored into the announcement， given that Sen． Lucas＇ daughter， who is an active candidate for office in the upcoming election． was also charged．
Blanche， who in his previous role as President Trump＇s defense attorney， cited the 60-day rule to criticizecharges brought against Trumpby former special counsel Jack Smith leading up to the 2024 election， downplayed the rule＇s impact on his Justice Department＇s charging decisions in this case．
＂The Justice Manual speaks very clearly about what the Department of Justice can and can＇t do． We cannot bring a charge if our purpose is improper， and there＇s nothing improper about this purpose，＂ Blanche said Thursday， adding that Lucas herself is not yet up for re-election．
