Appointee’s Family Donated More than $1,500 to Virginia GOP Candidates Including Miyares in 2021 Cycle

Washington, DC — Several weeks ago, Virginia GOP AG Jason Miyares fired two top lawyers from George Mason University and the University of Virginia, including the top staff investigator on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

This week, AG Miyares named a new top lawyer at GMU and it’s coming under major scrutiny: “Faculty members worry the new interim appointment signals more of what they consider undue political influence at the university, which is the state’s top-enrolling four-year public institution,” Higher Ed Dive reports.

Higher Ed Dive reported today that the husband, Kevin Gentry, of AG Miyares’ new appointee is a “long-time Koch Foundation executive and Republican fundraiser.”

“Gifts from billionaire industrialists Charles Koch and the late David Koch to the university were revealed to have come with conditions like giving the Kochs a say on who was hired for faculty positions they helped fund. And Kevin Gentry’s employer, Koch Industries, donated $5,000 to Miyares’ attorney general campaign last year, according to campaign finance records.”

In addition to the Koch contributions, the Gentry family contributed more than $1,000 last year to Virginia GOP candidates: “Kevin Gentry directly gave $1,000 to Youngkin and $500 to Miyares’ attorney general campaign.”

AG Miyares’ response to his new appointment? “Phone calls to the attorney general’s spokesperson went to a voicemail that was full and not accepting messages,” said Higher Ed Dive.

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