Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife were indicted Tuesday on corruption charges after a monthslong federal investigation into thousands of dollars in gifts the Republican received from a businessman and political donor.

A bond hearing and arraignment is set for both defendants Friday in U.S. District Court in Richmond.

"Today's charges represent the Justice Department's continued commitment to rooting out public corruption at all levels of government," Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman said in a news release. "Ensuring that elected officials uphold the public's trust is one of our most critical responsibilities."

McDonnell left office earlier this month after four years in the governor's office. Virginia law limits governors to a single term.

A federal investigation overshadowed the final months in office for the once-rising star of the Republican Party, with authorities looking into gifts he and his family received from Jonnie Williams, the former CEO of dietary supplements maker Star Scientific.

In July, McDonnell apologized and said he had returned more than $120,000 in loans and other gifts from Williams. He insisted that he had done nothing illegal on behalf of Star Scientific but said he'd do "things differently today than choices I made a couple of years ago."

On Tuesday, McDonnell repeated that apology but insisted he had done nothing wrong.

"I deeply regret accepting legal gifts and loans from Mr. Williams, all of which have been repaid with interest, and I have apologized for my poor judgment for which I take full responsibility," McDonnell said. "However, I repeat emphatically that I did nothing illegal for Mr. Williams in exchange for what I believed was his personal generosity and friendship."

Henry Asbill, a lawyer for McDonnell, told The Associated Press: "My client looks forward to telling his side of the story to an unbiased judge and jury and is very confident that he will prevail."

William Burck, the attorney representing McDonnell's wife, Maureen, also said his client is innocent.

"The Department of Justice has overreached to bring these charges," he said in a statement. "Thankfully, however, the Department is not the sole arbiter in our justice system, which ultimately is not ruled by the unfounded suspicions of prosecutors but rather the law and the facts as decided by the judge and the jury."

The indictment alleges that the McDonnells solicited gifts and loans in exchange for promoting and obtaining research studies for Star's products, including the dietary supplement Anatabloc. The governor allegedly arranged meetings with other government officials for the Star Scientific CEO, listed in the indictment only as "JW," and hosted events at the Executive Mansion to promote the company's products to doctors and researchers.

The indictment portrays the McDonnells as deeply in debt and Williams as a benefactor who was willing to lavish them with luxury gifts, loans and trips in return for McDonnell's influence promoting Star Scientific's products. It alleges the relationship began during McDonnell's campaign for governor and continued through most of his term.