By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press
RALEIGH -- Former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign records will be scrutinized in a public hearing to determine whether Easley's campaign committee violated the law, the State Board of Elections announced Wednesday.
Board director Gary Bartlett said the elections board would meet Oct. 26 to examine evidence about The Mike Easley Committee as well as the state Democratic Party. The hearing could last a week, Bartlett said.
Board staff has been investigating Easley campaign records since the campaign changed reports after failing to disclose the use of a car. The board also has been examining free airplane flights taken by Easley while governor and whether their value exceeded maximum campaign donation limits.
The five-member board -- comprised of three Democrats and two Republicans -- could reprimand the groups or clear them, issue fines or refer the cases to a district attorney for possible criminal charges against individuals.
It wasn't immediately clear if Easley, a Democrat, would attend the hearing. Ace Smith, a political consultant and Easley spokesman, said there would be no comment Wednesday from him or Easley. Smith said in July that a hearing wasn't needed.
Easley committee attorney John Wallace released a statement that the campaign "has provided over seventeen years worth of committee records to the board" and "will continue to cooperate with the board in connection with the hearing."
The hearing's announcement comes more than four months after the elections board sealed the Easley campaign file because potential criminal penalties were involved.
"The work of our investigation has brought us to the point where it needed board attention," Bartlett said. Board chairman Larry Leake, who scheduled the hearing, didn't return a phone call seeking comment. Public hearings aren't required following a staff investigation if it finds no wrongdoing or the matter can be settled without significant penalties.
The hearing may provide the most details to date about activities surrounding Easley, a two-term governor who left office in January. Easley previously served as attorney general.
Easley and his wife, Mary, have been dogged for months by federal and state investigations involving activities surrounding the couple, including how Mary Easley landed a job at N.C. State University while her husband was governor. She was fired earlier this year from the job that ultimately paid her $170,000 a year.
Neither the Easleys nor Democratic Party representatives have been charged with any crimes.
State Democratic Party Chairman David Young said party officials "welcome a full, open and fair hearing to determine the facts as expeditiously as possible."
