Former Gov. Mike Easley's attorney said Easley got what he asked for in a referral to prosectors.

"I got what I asked for," said Thomas Hicks, an attorney for Easley

Hicks surprised the Board of Elections on Thursday by asking them to refer the case to the Wake County District Attorney. Board chairman Larry Leake mentioned Easley by name as someone who may have committed criminal acts.

Hicks told reporters that investigators should focus on Easley friend McQueen Campbell, who testified that Easley asked him to falsify invoices to pay for repairs to Easley's Raleigh home. Easley said the allegation is false.

Board chairman Larry Leake said the board had received evidence that suggests Easley or others may have committed a crime.

"This board has received evidence which, if believed, would tend to indicate that criminal violations of our election laws and campaign finance laws have occurred on the part of Mike Easley and perhaps others," Leake said.

Easley supporter and friend McQueen Campbell testified that Easley told him to file a false invoice for campaign flights to pay for repairs done to Easley's Raleigh home. Easley said the allegation is false.

Campbell has essentially admitted to a crime. The question is whether Easley was involved.

"I think McQueen Campbell is where the emphasis should be placed," Hicks said.

The State Board of Elections this morning ordered former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign to pay $100,000 for failing to report campaign flights and sent Easley's case to the Wake County District Attorney's Office for a criminal review.

Board chairman Larry Leake said the board had received evidence that suggests Easley or others may have committed a crime, reports Ben Niolet.

"This board has received evidence which, if believed, would tend to indicate that criminal violations of our election laws and campaign finance laws have occurred on the part of Mike Easley and perhaps others," Leake said.

Easley supporter and friend McQueen Campbell testified that Easley told him to file a false invoice for campaign flights to pay for repairs done to Easley's Raleigh home. Easley said the allegation is false.

The board also found that the Easley campaign solicited $9,000 in contributions to the N.C. Democratic Party by telling the contributors that the money would be earmarked for Easley's campaign, a violation of state law. The board ordered the N.C. Democratic Party to surrender $9,000. The board decided that there was no evidence of other crimes committed by the party.

The State Board of Elections allowed lawyers to make closing statements in the Gov. Mike Easley campaign finance hearings.

John Wallace, an attorney for Easley's campaign committee:

THE CAR: Easley and his campaign have paid more than $25,000 for the use of a GMC Yukon that neither Easley, nor his committee, were paying for.

FLIGHTS: Tracking which flights were campaign-related has been difficult for the committee. "One can never be sure that one has captured all the flights and one can never be sure that all the flights that one has scheduled in a spreadsheet occurred," Wallace said.

McQueen Campbell, who provided scores of flights for Easley, did not submit invoices to the campaign treasurer.

"Mr. Campbell failed utterly to give information to the treasurer," Wallace said. "I don't know what the treasurer can do if he knew nothing about the air travel."

   Comments (1)

With one witness left, the State Board of Elections hearings are almost complete.

It's too early to say how the board will decide the case, or if any findings will be issued. But four key issues have emerged. Here's a run down, prepared by reporters Dan Kane and J. Andrew Curliss, of what Easley or his associates could be facing. 

The board will likely decide whether to ask for charges related to four issues:

1) A 2000 GMC Yukon SUV provided to Easley's campaign that did not appear in election reports

2) Air travel provided by Easley fundraiser McQueen Campbell and others that did not appear in election reports

3) Repairs to Easley's personal residence in Raleigh that were paid for by his campaign

4) Allegations that Easley donors were told to give to the N.C. Democratic Party, which would then turn over the money to Easley's campaigns.

   Comments (0)

Former Gov. Mike Easley says he never asked McQueen Campbell to falsify invoices to pay for repairs to Easley's Raleigh home. This exchange with State Board of Elections chairman Larry Leake was the highlight and the big moment from five hours of testimony.

The State Board of Elections adjourned its hearing for the day at 4 p.m. and intends to call only one more witness — former N.C. Democratic Party chairman Scott Falmlen.

After former Gov. Mike Easley testified, two witnesses testified that they had little or no involvement or recollection of anything relevant to the hearing. It wouldn't have mattered if they did, because Easley's testimony was the story of the day. Some highlights:

NOT EVER: Easley directly contradicted the story told by McQueen Campbell — that Easley wanted Campbell to pay for repairs to his home with falsified invoices for flights. Both men can't be telling the truth. It's helpful to Campbell, then, that a campaign volunteer recalls Easley urging her to pay the invoice. Easley says he thought the invoice was for future flights.

FRUGAL GUY: Easley didn't like to spend money, so it caught Board chairman Larry Leake as a little curious that Easley never asked how much all those repairs to his house were costing him.

I MADE YOU: Easley began his testimony by reminding the board that he was the one who put a bunch of them on the board in the first place.

COORDINATION: The Democratic Party's defense is going to boil down to an argument that everyone has misunderstood the concept of a coordinated campaign. Yes, Easley was helping raise money for the party, but the party got to say what to do with it, according to the argument. Donors have testified they believed their money would be funneled to Easley.

A few times throughout former Gov. Mike Easley's testimony, he seems to have taken pains to remind the State Board of Elections that they are, in fact, talking to a governor.

There was the tee-off, before chairman Larry Leake had a chance to burrow in with a tough question: "Since I had the privilege of appointing some of you, I wanted to say I appreciate your service."

Easley explained he was too busy trying to get a lottery passed to worry about invoices: "I'm trying to get a lottery passed which passed the end of August...And I'm working on that last vote. If I don't get that passed, I don't have pre-K, I don't have class size reduction and I don't have any of those things we need," Easley said.

Then there was his explanation as to why he didn't triple check with supporter McQueen Campbell about whether flights were paid for: Easley said he was busy trying to fulfill his promises to voters. 

Throughout the week, campaign officials have described former Gov. Mike Easley as a reluctant fundraiser who was, well in a word, tight.

Easley didn't care to spend money and he told the State Board of Elections that he hated to see money wasted. But that testimony wasn't helpful to Easley.

Easley testified that he was only briefly involved in repairs to his rental home in Raleigh and that he trusted McQueen Campbell to handle the repairs and get paid for them. Easley said he never asked Campbell how much the repairs were costing him.

Board chairman Larry Leake had a problem with that idea.

"The inference during the testimony is that you are a little on the tight side," Leake said.

"I am with the state's money. I don't want to see anything wasted. I didn't want to see any campaign money wasted, I didn't want to see any campaign time wasted," Easley said.

"You never inquired about how much those repairs were costing you?" Leake asked.

"I just figured it would all come out in the wash," Easley said.

Gov. Mike Easley said he believed McQueen Campbell was paid for all the flights he provided.

Easley said Campbell told him that he was reimbursed, and that Campbell should have known that he needed to submit invoices to avoid problems with the state's campaign finance reporting laws.

"He's not an imbecile," Easley said., "I'm sure he knows he has to bill the campaign...that's something he would have known."

State Board of Elections chairman Larry Leake asked Easley why he didn't check again with Campbell after news reports, particularly in The News & Observer, began to highlight unpaid flights.

Easley said he was busy trying to finish his tenure as governor.

"I was trying to get things done, tie up loose ends," he said. "I wasn't out there trying to second-guess somebody I trusted who told me they had been reimbursed for everything they had done for the campaign."