State sets Easley hearing

Former Gov. Mike Easley, who is a former crime-fighting prosecutor and state attorney general, is expected to be called to testify under oath about possible violations of state elections laws tied to his campaigns for the state's highest office.

North Carolina's elections board Wednesday set a hearing for Oct. 26 to gather evidence about the Easley campaign and the state Democratic Party that the board said might indicate illegal contributions and inaccurate campaign finance reports.

Easley said through a spokesman previously that hearings were not needed. The spokesman would not comment Wednesday.

Elections board Chairman Larry Leake of Mars Hill said hearings will sift information and gather evidence about activities that are under investigation. He said no one should assume there was wrongdoing by Easley, the state party or anyone else.

"The purpose of the hearing is to find the truth as to what did occur," Leake said.

In recent years, some state elections hearings have led to dramatic testimony and spurred criminal charges against top elected officials, including the speaker of the state House. Other hearings have led to fines or calls for reforms of laws -- as well as findings of no wrongdoing.

Subpoena foreseen

Leake said in an interview that Easley will be required to appear, setting a stage for the former two-term Democratic governor who left office in January to answer questions publicly after months of issuing statements through spokesmen or lawyers. Easley now works for the McGuireWoods law firm in Raleigh.

"It would be my anticipation that he [Easley] would be subpoenaed to testify," Leake said. "You don't have an option if you are subpoenaed."

Leake said Easley and his campaign have cooperated with the elections board's four-month investigation and provided lots of information.

"We have concern that there may have been violations of the law," he said. "And there are also certain conflicts with what we have been told by various individuals as to what occurred and why it occurred."

State elections director Gary Bartlett also refused to say what topics will be covered or who will be called to testify. He said it's possible that new information could be produced in the hearing, which could last one week.

Elections officials opened their formal inquiry into the Easley campaign after reports in The News & Observer last spring detailed Easley's use of cars and flights on private planes for which no payments were made. Since then, a campaign watchdog group, Democracy North Carolina, has called for hearings on the Easley campaign.

Other reports in The N&O since then have revealed a range of perks that Easley and his wife, Mary, accepted while Easley was in office, including a six-figure price break on an already favorable price on a waterfront lot at the coast.

The elections probe would be focused only on campaign or election law matters, officials said.

Party supports hearing

In April, Easley's campaign amended its public reports to indicate that an SUV driven by Easley's son -- but owned by a Fayetteville car dealer -- had actually been a campaign car in 2003, 2004 and part of 2005.

The N&O's report in May disclosed flights that had been donated to Easley or the state party by supporters. A lawyer for Easley indicated to elections officials at the time that the campaign was working to update its public reports and produce more disclosures. But that has not happened.

In July, the state Democratic Party voluntarily forfeited $24,000 related to Easley flights and said it was an effort to "fully comply with the law."

The state Democratic Party chairman, David Young, said in a statement Wednesday that the party supports a "full, open, and fair hearing to determine the facts as expeditiously as possible."

The issue of private flights and how to account for them is not a new one to the state Democratic Party.

Its lawyer sought guidance on the issue in early 2004, both before and after some flights in question.

Elections officials determined in June 2004 that the law required reporting of the cost of flights and, in many instances, that flights could not be donated. That's because elections officials noted that many private planes are owned by limited liability companies. Businesses are banned from making campaign contributions in North Carolina.

"The use of an aircraft owned by a corporation or business entity ... may not be donated to a candidate, party or political committee," the state elections director wrote to the state party's lawyer, John Wallace, on June 21, 2004. Wallace has also represented Easley's campaign.

Campaign reports filed by the state party and Easley show donated air travel in 2003 and 2004 by people whose planes are owned by corporations.

Flights can be donated by an individual who owns a plane. But the cost of the flight is to be considered a donation that is subject to the state's contribution limit of $4,000 for either a primary or general election period, elections officials said at the time.

Flying for free

McQueen Campbell, a pilot and Easley confidant, has said he flew Easley often without getting paid. He said most of the free flights came in the 2000 campaign.

Separately, the FBI and other state and federal agencies are also investigating Easley, according to subpoenas and other documents that have been made public in recent months. Easley has said he is comfortable with the state and federal investigations of his years in public service.

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