Two former judges and a former U.S. senator have been named to investigate the disappearance of state Highway Patrol records pertaining to then Gov. Mike Easley's travels in 2005.

N.C. Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young said today that Willis Whichard, a former state Supreme Court justice and former Campbell University law school dean; Robert Morgan, a former U.S. senator, former SBI director and former state attorney general; and Ralph Walker, a former superior and court of appeals judge and former director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, will conduct the probe, reports Dan Kane.

"Governor Perdue and I are determined to do everything in our power to find the answers regarding the 2005 records," Young said in a statement. "These three are dedicated public servants and have a history of impartiality and fairness."

The missing records are part of wide-ranging state and federal investigations into perks provided to Easley and his family. The patrol's records have helped show that Easley received free air travel from fundraisers whom he appointed to important positions in state government.

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Gov. Beverly Perdue today declined to take steps to make public an internal state Highway Patrol investigation into missing records pertaining to her predecessor's travels in 2005.

Patrol officials say the internal affairs investigation, the second of two internal probes into the missing records, cleared a patrol supervisor involved in the records' disappearance, Capt. Alan Melvin. But neither the patrol or its boss, state Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young, are making the report public.

They cite state law that keeps most personnel matters secret. But the law includes an exemption for the release of personnel records when an agency's integrity is in question.

Perdue did not directly answer a reporter's question as to whether she would order the report released. She suggested she did not have the legal authority to do so.

"I'm not a lawyer," said Perdue, a New Bern Democrat. "I'm trying to follow the rules of the law ... I'm constantly told this is privileged information."

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The head of the state agency that oversees the Highway Patrol is calling for an investigation into missing records detailing former Gov. Mike Easley's travels. 

State Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young has requested an independent investigation of missing flight records and he has ordered the patrol captain involved in their disappearance to go back on administrative duty.

On Friday, the patrol confirmed that Capt. Alan Melvin had been returned to duty. This was after an internal inquiry, followed by an internal affairs investigation, determined that Melvin had not intended to remove or destroy the records.

Newly appointed patrol Commander Randy Glover had made that decision last month, but Young took Melvin off the job again Monday. Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said Young was concerned about new information that a patrol secretary had given to The News & Observer about the missing records.

The secretary assigned to the governor's security detail said in the internal inquiry that Melvin had told her to download flight records onto a computer disk and then give it to him. He told her to then delete the files to "free up space on the computer."

The secretary said in an interview with The N&O that she had never expressed a problem with the computer that would require the need to free up space.

Young "had not heard that information before," Clendenin said.

The computer was turned over to federal investigators in May. The patrol has found flight records for 2003 and 2004, but they have been unable to find them for 2005.

Republicans respond after the jump.

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The FBI issued a subpoena to the state Highway Patrol today, ordering the agency to produce all records related to private air travel of the Easley family.

The request is made as part of a grand jury investigation, according to the documents. The grand jury meets next week, according to the subpoena, Andy Curliss reports.

Besides seeking information about the private travels of former Gov. Mike Easley, his wife Mary Easley and his son Michael Easley Jr., the subpoena requests documents relating to:

* Payments made in exchange for the air travel.
* Communications with the Easley family regarding the private travel.
* Communications regarding public inquiries surrounding the air travel.
* The state Highway Patrol's records retention policy.
* The retention or destruction of records related to travel by the Easley family.

The News & Observer published a story on Saturday detailing private flights that the former governor took based on records Easley had kept secret while in office. Some flights were free, according to aircraft owners and pilots who flew him. Some were not reported on campaign disclosure reports, though the records show that they were campaign flights.

The records are held by the state Highway Patrol, which has a special unit to protect the governor. Easley and administration officials had said the records' release while he was in office would compromise his security.

In addition, the N&O showed in its report that there are gaps in the records and that other flights likely took place for which no records have been made available. Nothing has been provided for the entire year of 2005, for example. Patrol officials say they have scoured the unit's files and cannot locate any records other than those already provided.

Update: A second subpoena was served Friday at the patrol's headquarters and to Capt. Alan Melvin, who headed the unit for several years. Melvin was placed on administration duty as of 1 p.m. today, a patrol spokesman said. That means he will work only on administrative tasks. 

State Highway Patrol Capt. Alan Melvin headed up the special protection detail for Gov. Mike Easley for years, but is now assigned to an information technology job at the patrol.

That's why a reporter was curious to see Melvin show up earlier this year at the Raleigh home of Easley.

The date was Feb. 18 — a Wednesday — and Melvin pulled up around 2 p.m. He carried a package to the door with him. He left without it, reports Andy Curliss.

That date was the same day that the state Highway Patrol informed The News & Observer that it would begin providing flight records relating to Easley, saying some would be available the next day.

The newspaper had long sought the records and one result of their release was a two-part series published Saturday and Sunday. The report showed, in part, that the Highway Patrol has gaps in its records. For example, there are no records from 2005.

Back in February, at the time of Melvin's visit to the Easley home, the paper immediately wanted to talk with Melvin. Through a spokesman, Capt. Everett Clendenin, Melvin declined to speak numerous times. But at the request of the paper, Clendenin asked Melvin about his visit. Melvin denied being at the Easley home that day, according to Clendenin.

The schedule shows Melvin was on duty that day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. It is not clear when he took lunch.

The N&O then asked the commander of the patrol, Col. Walter Wilson, about the visit.

Wilson inquired and later reported back that Melvin said he had been there — and he was there to drop off some "personal items."

Last week, The N&O asked Wilson about the discrepancy in Melvin's stories. Patrol policy requires a member to be "truthful and complete in all written and oral communications, reports, and testimony."

Wilson said he didn't know why there was a difference. Moments later, Clendenin phoned the newspaper and put Melvin on the line.

Excerpts from the exchange, after the jump.

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