>> reporter: the highwater marks for governor bob mcdonnell are clear, from its landslide win, mentioned as a possible vice president candidate and chosen to chair the 2012 gop convention's platform committee. last february, mcdonnell won passage of the signature achievement, the sweeping transportation funding bill. >> transportation was the issue that nobody thought could actually get passed in a substantive way to make a generational game change, and i think we got that done, so a couple of high fives after that. >> reporter: soon, the news of a scandal broke. for months, a federal investigation has been under way into gifts and loans given to the governor and his family by a political donor and ceo of a dietary supplement company. >> it tarnished his reputation. it did. people saw him as a straight shooter type, very ethical. what ultimately just happened was so outside the understanding of bob mcdonald, that so many people had. >> reporter: mcdonnell says he hopes his record will...