Hearings will examine Easley campaign
September 30, 2009The News & Observer reports that former Governor Mike Easley will be the subject of hearings before the State Board of Elections covering alleged misuse of campaign funds while he was serving in office.
Former Gov. Mike Easley will be the subject of public hearings later this month as part of an ongoing state elections board investigation into questionable activity by the Easley campaign and the state Democratic Party, according to the board’s chairman, Larry Leake.
The hearings will begin Oct. 26 at 11 a.m. and could last a week, Leake told the News & Observer today.
Leake said the hearings will deal with evidence of alleged campaign law violations — and that no one should assume there was any wrongdoing by Easley, the state party or his campaign just because hearings will be held.
“The purpose of the hearings is to find the truth as to what did occur,” Leake said.
A spokesman for Easley had said previously that Easley, a Democrat who left office in January after serving eight years, did not think any hearings were necessary.
The hearings will give Easley a chance to publicly appear under oath and answer questions surrounding his campaign. Easley has communicated only through lawyers, spokesmen or written statements since reports in The News & Observer this spring detailed the use of cars and secret flights provided for Easley but for which he did not pay.
The state Democratic Party, which had been listed in reports as providing some of the flights — but not all — has since forfeited $24,000 related to Easley flights and said it was an effort to “fully comply with the law.”
Other reports in the N&O since then have revealed a range of perks that Easley and his wife, Mary, accepted while in office. The elections board only investigates matters that deal with campaigns and elections, and so it is unclear exactly what information the hearings will cover. …
