GOP Leaders to Perdue: Outside Investigator Needed to Probe ‘Lost’ Easley Records

Raleigh, N.C. – Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Republican Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) today urged Gov. Beverly Perdue to call for an independent investigator to look into the “lost” travel records of former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley. 

 

A recent News & Observer series brought to light a pattern of questionable activity surrounding Easley’s terms as governor including possible violations of ethics and campaign finance laws.  The newspaper reported that Easley took multiple free and undisclosed flights on private or corporate aircraft.  The Highway Patrol is charged with providing security for the governor and Perdue ordered the patrol to comply with media requests for copies of records relating to Easley’s travel while governor.  The patrol now says they have released all records even though there are unexplained gaps, including an entire year (2005), for which no records were provided.  An internal review by the patrol fails to account for the “lost” documents.

 

“Given the unfortunate recent history of political corruption in North Carolina state government, these are troubling revelations,” said Berger.  “Any connection between hidden campaign contributions and taxpayer funded benefits for politicians and their families strikes at the heart of our system of government.  The people of North Carolina deserve to know the truth; these travel records didn’t walk away on their own.  Those responsible for keeping records which are now ‘lost’ are not the proper ones to investigate what happened as any ‘internal’ investigation will be subject to conflicts of interest.  Gov. Perdue should immediately call in an outside investigator completely free from political influence to determine what became of these ‘lost’ records.”

 

“Since Department of Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Reuben Young was legal counsel to Gov. Easley at the time, Gov. Perdue should ask him to cooperate fully with the investigation and immediately disclose to the United States Attorney everything that he knows,” said Stam.

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