In a news release and report today, State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, said that state policy allows public employees to make reasonable personal use of state-provided Internet access. However, he found activity in both offices that rose above reasonable personal use to a level of active participation in political campaigns.

"Let's remember that when state resources and personnel are used for political campaigning, it's the taxpayers that get stuck with the bill," Merritt said.

The audit found "significant" evidence of campaigning within the treasurer's office. It found some evidence of campaign activity in Perdue's office and also the potential for abuse of state resources.

The issue arose in September, when an attorney for Perdue sent Merritt a letter noting that her office had received a public records request from someone using a computer in Moore's office. That e-mail was sent by Julie White, a senior adviser to Moore's campaign who was also at the time the communications director for the treasurer's office. White sent the requests from her father-in-law's e-mail account.

A few hours after that complaint, Moore's campaign manager sent his own complaint to Merritt, claiming that Perdue had similarly used her office for political activities.

The audit found, four employees in Moore's office, including White, who accessed Web sites of political action committees, a polling consultant and the state Democratic Party's voter database. The auditors found 53 political documents including speeches, planning documents, a donor "thank you" letter, fliers and agendas for campaign meetings, as well as contact lists. The auditors found 60 e-mail messages regarding campaign activity that circulated between treasurer employees and Moore's campaign staff.

The auditors think the employees used state computers to access personal e-mail accounts. "in addition, computer analysis indicated the chief deputy and communications director were occasionally included in correspondence related to campaign activities," Merritt wrote.

Officials in the treasurer's office admitted that nine messages or documents were inappropriate, Merritt wrote. Officials in the treasurer's office, however, also said some of the documents and messages were related to official state business. Merritt disagreed.

"Many of the speeches in which the State Treasurer was speaking were in an official capacity. However many of these speeches were given to partisan political groups...and included mentions of the State Treasurer's campaign for governor," Merritt wrote. "Further many e-mail messages that State Treasurer management classified as 'official duties' involved correspondence with campaign staff to ensure a 'consistent message' between the Department of State Treasurer and the campaign for governor. As a result, we believe these are inappropriate uses of state resources."

Moore wrote in a response that he had already taken steps to stop the political use of state equipment even before Merritt began the investigation. Employees were disciplined, including one who was suspended for a week without pay.

Moore's campaign manager, Jay Reiff, said that aside from the nine instances in which Moore acknowledged inappropriate activity, the auditor's report is overstating things or even wrong. Many of the things Merritt cited, such as the office keeping a list of reporters, are common and would have been done whether Moore was seeking election or not. His speeches, Reiff said, were not political, but focused on issues relating to the treasurer's office.

Moore's staff has been accused of using state property for political purposes in the past. In April 2006, a state audit found that former Chief Deputy Treasurer Joe Stewart used the department's computer network for political purposes. Stewart left the treasurer's office in February 2005.

In Perdue's office, Merritt found that Perdue had installed privately funded Internet access and a wireless router. Employees said they used the Internet access for campaign business, but only on breaks, during lunch and after business hours. Perdue had no way of monitoring whether employees stuck to those rules, Merritt found, although she told auditors that she had confidence in her employees and trusted them not to abuse the privilege.

"A state-owned building, equipment and property were provided to the lieutenant governor's office to conduct official state business only," Merritt wrote. "It is inappropriate for the lieutenant governor (or her campaign) to provide equipment that invites the abuse of those policies and statutes."

In her response to Merritt, Perdue wrote that she had the private Internet connection shut off in November and that her staff is regularly reminded of the rules for use.

Moore's office had also accused Perdue of misusing state troopers, who are assigned to protect the lieutenant governor. Merritt found that troopers had transported Perdue to campaign events. The security detail, assigned to the lieutenant governor for protection, has followed that practice since 1989, Merritt found.

Perdue's campaign has reimbursed the state for the miles the troopers drove to campaign events. No laws or rules specifically govern security protection for the lieutenant governor, which is granted at the governor's discretion.

"If the governor chooses not to grant it, then the person that is constitutionally first in line to succeed the governor is without security protection. This would leave the state's leadership in a vulnerable position," Merritt wrote.

Merritt himself had to answer questions about his office's use of state equipment earlier this month when the state Democratic Party released logs showing that a computer in Merritt's office was used to check the party's Web site 217 times in six months.

A spokeswoman for the party said that a computer in Merritt's office was used to look at pages dedicated to Beth Wood, who is running for the Democratic nomination for auditor. Merritt said he routinely reminds his staff not to use state equipment for political purposes and suggested that the criticism may have been lobbed to blunt his audit report on Moore and Perdue.

Reiff said the activity in Merritt's own office shows that public officials may need clearer directions.

"There is certainly political activity if not outright campaigning going on in his own office," Reiff said. "State law is not very clear and doesn't give a whole lot of direction to officials who are running for office."

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