NC agency says it has no ‘public’ records of sexually suggestive texts by Causey
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The department said it has no "public" texts responsive to the request.
- The N&O published sexually suggestive texts a former employee says Causey sent.
- Open-government advocates criticized the department's denial and urged disclosure.
The state Insurance Department says it has no “public” texts between Commissioner Mike Causey and a former employee who previously shared with The News & Observer several messages of a sexual nature that she found inappropriate.
“We do not have any public records that are responsive to your request,” said Barry Smith, the department’s deputy communications director, in an email late Wednesday.
A month ago, The N&O requested all texts between Causey and April Taylor, a former regional director and bail bond division analyst who left the department in February after eight years working there. Causey, a Guilford County Republican, directly hired Taylor shortly after he won his first election in 2016.
Nine days after that request, The N&O reported on the texts shared by Taylor. Some of the texts from Causey include comments such as:
“I might jump your bones. Watch out!!!” A heart emoji followed.
“You’re hotter than you realize,” followed by a grin emoji and a flame emoji.
“Just don’t let me catch you in the room alone,” followed by a crying and laughing emoji.
Causey has acknowledged texting with Taylor about work matters, but says he has no recollection of texting about her appearance. The texts originated from Causey’s personal cellphone, Taylor’s phone showed. Two experts told The N&O texts such as those would be clearly beyond the bounds of acceptable communications between an employer and an employee.
Smith indicated in previous emails that Causey had text messages.
“We are in the process of reviewing messages in response to your request and will get them to you as promptly as possible pursuant to the Public Records Act,” he wrote on May 13.
Six days later, he wrote in another email:
“As for your request from last week for all text messages between Commissioner Causey and our former employee, April Taylor, since 2016, we are in the process of reviewing those messages and will respond to your request as promptly as possible pursuant to the Public Records Act.”
Smith and Causey have told other media outlets the department can’t discuss the texts because it’s a personnel matter. But the state’s personnel law allows agency heads to discuss such matters under what is known as the integrity exemption. It was put into the law so agencies can release personnel information to show they are operating in the public’s interest.
Pate McMichael, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition, said the insurance department’s response was disappointing. The department appears to be using the state’s personnel law to dodge the issues raised by Taylor, he said.
“Those records need to be released under the public records law or they need to cite legitimate exemptions if they are not going to disclose them,” said McMichael, who is also a journalism professor at Elon University. “But by saying they don’t have any responsive records, based on the information you have, this doesn’t sound truthful and a violation of the public records law.”
He also noted that texts are not specifically listed as personnel records under the law.
“You can’t just throw records in the personnel file and then claim the exemption,” he said.
Mitch Kokai, a senior political analyst with the John Locke Foundation, also said the department should be more forthcoming. While he found the texts inappropriate, the lack of transparency is a bigger problem, he said, adding that he is speaking for himself and not the foundation, a right-leaning nonprofit think tank.
The department’s response “just makes it seem like you’ve got something to hide,” said Kokai, who is a former journalist. “In the interest of transparency you are supposed to keep the records and provide them when they are asked for, and when that doesn’t happen it just seems like there aren’t policies that should be in place or that someone is evading the policies to try to hide them.”
The texts themselves would be a worse issue if Taylor had pushed back on them and Causey ignored her or retaliated, Kokai said. Taylor acknowledged that she did not, and often responded with flattery. She said she worried about retaliation.
State Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch has called upon State Auditor Dave Boliek to investigate, while Onotse Omoyeni, spokeswoman for Gov. Josh Stein, a Raleigh Democrat, said Taylor’s allegations against Causey are “deeply troubling and are inappropriate.”
Taylor has complained to several state officials and agencies. Her allegations initially centered on Causey’s use of the workplace for political purposes, as well as retaliation she claims she received by her superiors for reporting improper handling of bail agents’ relicensing. She filed a formal complaint with the State Ethics Commission focusing on the texts this month.
She said the department’s denial of records reminds her of her days dealing with convicted felons as a probation officer, a job she held for 10 years before joining the insurance department.
“Lie, deny and alibi,” she said.
The N&O on Thursday morning asked Smith to explain whether the department has any texts, and if so why they would be exempt. The state public records law requires agencies to provide that information.
The N&O has also asked Smith to report whether Causey has deleted any text messages with Taylor, and if so, when and why. If the messages are considered a personnel matter, The N&O has asked why Causey isn’t using the integrity exemption in the personnel law to discuss them.
Smith emailed at the end of the business day Friday. It was the same response.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "NC agency says it has no ‘public’ records of sexually suggestive texts by Causey."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified Mitch Kokai’s current position with the John Locke Foundation.