Under the Dome: 3 years later, Mark Robinson’s campaign reports appear to still be under review
Hello and welcome to your Under the Dome newsletter. Avi Bajpai here.
In February 2021, longtime government accountability advocate Bob Hall filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections raising questions about several potential irregularities in Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s campaign finance reports.
Issues with Robinson’s reports had first come to light during the 2020 campaign. At the time, Robinson told WRAL that he was hiring someone new to manage campaign finances, and that any problems would be addressed “quick, fast and in a hurry.”
Soon after he was elected, Robinson’s consultant and spokesperson told The News & Observer that the campaign was aware of “clerical errors related to our campaign finance reports,” and was transitioning to a new staff, and was “in the process of working with the NCSBE to fix any and all mistakes, and to amend our reports to be accurate and up to date.”
Nearly three years later, the public remains in the dark about where things stand with an investigation the NCSBE opened after receiving his complaint, Hall told The N&O this week.
Hall, who sent Robinson and his staff a letter last week urging them to clarify publicly whether the issues with his campaign reports were still being investigated or had been addressed, tried to speak with Robinson about the issue after Tuesday’s Council of State meeting.
Among other issues, Hall said in his complaint he had identified potentially “illegal cash donations; contributions in illegal amounts and from illegal donors; illegal cash withdrawals; illegal credit card charges and illegal expenses; (and) illegal disclosure of financial transactions.”
Those allegations appear to still be under investigation. While state elections officials are prohibited by law from commenting on the existence or status of investigations into campaign finance reports, Hall said that shouldn’t stop Robinson, the current frontrunner in the GOP primary for governor, from explaining publicly what steps his campaign has taken to resolve or address the issues with his reports.
A law passed and enacted by the GOP-controlled legislature in 2018 over Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto made all campaign finance investigations confidential, but the state board’s campaign finance complaint policy adopted in 2019 notes that the law’s confidentiality provision “does not prevent a complainant or a respondent from publishing or otherwise disclosing the complaint, substance of the complainant, the response, or any substance of the response to members of the media or the public.”
“The public shouldn’t be kept in the dark,” Hall wrote in his letter to Robinson. “Rather than be surprised, voters need to hear from you now — before the primary, not after the November election. For accountability and transparency, please give people a truthful explanation.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign said the campaign had addressed all of the state board’s questions about the reports, and that the board has indicated that they’re short-staffed.
“We responded well over a year ago to the NCSBOE with all updated activity, addressing every question, with any requested documentation,” campaign spokesperson Mike Lonergan told The N&O. “We’ve followed up with them a couple of times to see where we are and they have responded that they are working through it. They indicated that they have been shorthanded on staff.”
That’s all for today. Check your inbox on Tuesday for more #ncpol news.
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