Easley Fallout Continues

FBI subpoenas Highway Patrol
"The FBI issued a subpoena to the state Highway Patrol today, ordering the agency to produce all records related to private air travel of the Easley family.

The request is made as part of a grand jury investigation, according to the documents. The grand jury meets next week, according to the subpoena, Andy Curliss reports.

Besides seeking information about the private travels of former Gov. Mike Easley, his wife Mary Easley and his son Michael Easley Jr., the subpoena requests documents relating to:

* Payments made in exchange for the air travel.
* Communications with the Easley family regarding the private travel.
* Communications regarding public inquiries surrounding the air travel.
* The state Highway Patrol's records retention policy.
* The retention or destruction of records related to travel by the Easley family."

State to investigate Easley campaign
"The state Board of Elections today launched a criminal probe of the Mike Easley campaign, officially closing the file to public inspection. ... The board has authority to investigate possible campaign law violations."

Campbell resigns from N.C. State
The chairman of the NCSU board has resigned after being asked by UNC System President Erskine Bowles to step down. He has been criticized for allowing former Democrat Governor Easley to fly his jet for free and also recommending Mary Easley for a job with the university.

Roy Cooper will not run for Senate

Although only tangentially related to the Easley investigation, the announcement was awkwardly timed at best. At least this frees up the Attorney General to begin rooting out the corruption in state government by investigating fellow Democrats.

Daves Joins Call for Special Prosecutor to Investigate Easley

RALEIGH— Yesterday, Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger called for a special prosecutor to look into the alleged abuses of power and possible campaign finance law violations of former Democrat Governor Mike Easley. Berger said an independent investigator was needed because of Democrat Attorney General Roy Cooper's lack of action on the matter as he contemplates a run for the U.S. Senate.

"The silence from North Carolina's chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Roy Cooper, regarding these serious allegations is deafening," Berger said in a statement. "But we should not be surprised since most of those under scrutiny are Democrats, and he will not risk offending them while seeking their support for a possible U.S. Senate campaign."

He said a special prosecutor would be free from political pressures and conflicts of interest.

A Cooper spokeswoman said by e-mail that the Attorney General's Office won't comment on a current or potential investigation. Noelle Talley, the spokeswoman, did note that Cooper had investigated a number of high-profile Democrats, including Jim Black, Thomas Wright, Meg Scott Phipps and Frank Ballance. ("GOP leader: Give Easley special prosecutor," News & Observer, 5/15/09)

Chairman Linda Daves, North Carolina Republican Party, made the following statement:

"I join Senator Berger's call for a special prosecutor to look into the alleged lawbreaking of Mike Easley. If Roy Cooper cannot complete a more thorough investigation of the matter than can be conducted by an enterprising journalist, then he cannot be trusted with the task of leading this investigation. The very fact that his spokeswoman can list fellow Democrats that he has investigated only goes to prove that Democrats in state government are a particularly at-risk population for corrupt behaviors."

NC AG Roy Cooper Faces Lawsuit

This story will surely be making more headlines soon as Roy Cooper faces a defamation lawsuit from a former campaign even as he contemplates a run for U.S. Senate.

Lawsuit against AG advances
By Jay Price
News & Observer
May 9, 2009

More than eight years after it was filed, a defamation suit against Attorney General Roy Cooper may be about to go to trial.

A Superior Court judge Friday denied a motion by Cooper's attorney to dismiss the suit. It was filed against Cooper and some of his campaign staff by Raleigh lawyer Dan Boyce, who was Cooper's opponent in the 2000 election for attorney general, and members of Boyce's family law firm.

Boyce, his father, Gene Boyce; his sister Laura Boyce Isley; and her husband, Philip Isley, said that Cooper's campaign had defamed them and damaged their business by running a television ad that claimed Boyce and his law firm had charged the state exorbitant fees in a lawsuit. ...

Judge W. Osmond Smith III's decision clears the way for a May 18 trial date.

Click here for the full article...