State Auditor Les Merritt offered the following response to criticism earlier Friday by Robert Farmer, chair of the state ethics commission:

"The public should be extremely disappointed in Mr. Farmer's unmeasured rhetoric targeting the Office of the State Auditor especially when the Office of State Personnel and the Office of State Budget discovered similar internal problems at the Ethics Commission. The facts are that the Ethics Commission staff has sued to block the State Auditor's investigation into the altering of public records, special treatment for high level government aides, and the potential retaliatory firing of a commission employee for exposing the possible cover-up. The Commission staff's disrespect for public transparency by suing to block an investigation and now Mr. Farmer's unmeasured rhetoric only feed the speculation by the public and the news media: What are they trying to hide?"

State Ethics Commission Chairman Robert Farmer blasted State Auditor Les Merritt Friday, accusing him of leveling "bogus and spurious allegations" in an investigation that is a "total sham."

Farmer, speaking at the start of a commission meeting, lambasted Merritt's inquiry into the ethics commission's dismissal of an employee over an incident involving the lawyer for Lieutenant Gov. Beverly Perdue reviewing Perdue's file, Mark Johnson reports.

Farmer charged that Merritt released a recent report on his investigation without waiting for a pending court ruling on a lawsuit filed by the commission over that same probe, with Merritt saying he is exempt from such interference.

"In other words, he is above the law," Farmer said.

He also accused Merritt of violating government accounting standards, his own duties, his own confidentiality rules and the ethics act.

"Now he thumbs his nose at a court of law," said Farmer, a former judge, "by proceeding to file a report of an investigation that is the very subject of a lawsuit."

The commission later entered closed session to discuss the lawsuit with their lawyer.

Gov. Mike Easley said that ethics reform efforts are not done yet.

Before signing three bills from this past session, the Southport Democrat noted that some of the legislation was intended to clear up problems created by earlier reform efforts.

Others, he said, were responses to recent revelations.

"This will be a continuing issue for us," he said.

He praised a bill that would make ethics hearings open to the public, saying that the public often hears the initial charge but not the exculpatory evidence. He said politicians who have done nothing wrong should welcome the openness.

"It gives officials the change to show they did nothing wrong," he said.

More after the jump.

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House Speaker Joe Hackney said today he would like the ethics law changed so that lawmakers and executive branch officials would face open hearings if probable cause is found on an ethics complaint.

"I think that's a good change," said Hackney, an Orange County Democrat.

Hackney played a lead role in shepherding much of the ethics, campaign finance and lobbying reforms in the wake of scandals involving former House Speaker Jim Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat.

But while the reforms produced more transparency in government — witness the lobbying reports showing hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the land transfer tax issue this year-- they also closed the door on state ethics commission hearings.

That has drawn complaints from open government groups and the state ethics commission's chairman, former state Superior Court Judge Robert Farmer.

Two other Democrat leaders on ethics legislation, Rep. Deborah Ross of Raleigh and Sen. Daniel Clodfelter of Charlotte have also said they will look to move legislation that opens the ethics hearings.

The State Ethics Commission reported today that 95 percent of the more than 4,000 state officials who must file detailed economic interest statements have done so as required under a new state law, including the entire state legislature.

Commission officials also said that roughly 65 officials opted to resign rather than fill out the forms, which ask for employment, investment and real estate information to help prevent against possible conflicts of interest, Dan Kane reports. That amounts to one percent of all officials who were required to fill out the forms.

"A mass exodus has not happened," said Kathleen Edwards, the commission's assistant director.

The commission closed its meeting to hear requests for advisory opinions and complaints of possible ethics violations. The new law bars the public from attending ethics complaint hearings, something that public interest groups say needs to be corrected. Legislation has been filed to open the complaint hearings, but it has not come before either the House or the Senate for a vote.

The News & Observer objected to the closed meeting. Former state Superior Court Judge Robert Farmer, who is now chairman of the commission, said he didn't like telling reporters to leave.

"We're following the law," he said. "Maybe they'll change it."