CLINTON ALLY FEELS HEAT – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  If she is to win the presidency, Hillary Clinton probably needs Virginia.  And her key to Virginia is its governor, Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton ally and fixer.  He could organize the state politically for the Clinton campaign.

Uh, but wait a minute.  McAuliffe suddenly has a problem that seems similar to problems that the Clinton crowd has regularly.  From Fox: 

Federal officials are investigating whether Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's 2013 campaign accepted illegal campaign contributions, sources familiar with the investigation confirmed Monday to Fox News.

The Democratic governor and Clinton ally is the target of a Justice Department investigation into whether he violated campaign finance laws.

Would that be Barack Obama's Justice Department?  Just askin'.

The probe, first reported by CNN, involves a $120,000 donation from Chinese businessman Wang Wenliang through his U.S. businesses. U.S. election law prohibits foreign nationals to donate to political races.

McAuliffe's attorney, Marc Elias, said in a statement his office was not aware of the investigation, but would cooperate if contacted by federal officials.

"We cannot confirm the CNN report. Neither the Governor nor his former campaign has knowledge of this matter, but as reported, contributions to the campaign from Mr. Wang were completely lawful," Elias said. "The Governor will certainly cooperate with the government if he is contacted about it."

A spokesman for Wang told CNN the businessman holds permanent resident status in the U.S.

Wang also has been a donor to the Clinton foundation, pledging $2 million, CNN reported.

COMMENT:  In the immortal words of the late Gilda Radner, "It's always something."  Where the Clintons go, questions about corruption follow.

If McAuliffe is sidelined or damaged by this probe, it could have a profound effect on Hillary's campaign.  If the race is very close, as expected, it could even cost her the election. 

And, of course, there is also the FBI probe into Hillary herself.  We should be getting some news about that fairly soon.

For Hillary, this was supposed to be a smooth ride.  It's not.

May 24,  2016