The legacy of former governor Bob McDonnell, indicted on federal corruption charges Tuesday, just 10 days after leaving office, has now been seriously tainted. On the one hand, Mr. McDonnell achieved important, ground-breaking accomplishments; he was a capable, substantive public servant; he was admired on both sides of the aisle. Yet he also exercised atrocious judgment as the state’s chief executive, indebting himself to a favor-currying businessman. Now Mr. McDonnell, a Republican, is the first of Virginia’s governors, a list that goes back to Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, to face criminal charges.

Whether or not he is actually convicted of any of the 14 felony counts he faces, he has disgraced himself and, as he acknowledged, embarrassed the people of the Commonwealth. In excruciating detail, the 43-page federal indictment lays out a litany of particulars. Both Mr. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, established a co relationship with Jonnie R. Williams, chief executive of Star Scientific, which sells health supplements. It is impossible to read the indictment — with its repeated examples of cash, vacations, gifts, loans, private jets, vacation houses and baubles swapped for official access and favors — without seeing that Mr. McDonnell debased the office he held and that Mrs. McDonnell was complicit.

What’s worse though is how seemingly nonchalant McDonnell is taking the charges. At his first press conference since the indictment, McDonnell claimed he was “falsely and wrongfully accused.” He went on to say that he believes that “the facts and the law” are clearly on his side. That is just the point though; Even if the governor’s actions were completely legal, it does not make them right. There’s a reason these sorts of actions are frowned upon. If a government official is willing to accept gifts, then it’s plausible that he or she could be bribed. Above all else, we need to feel we can trust our public officials. When actions like McDonnell’s are taken, that trust is shaken.