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The outside panel investigating what happened to missing travel records that detailed former Gov. Mike Easley's travel in 2005 has found nothing.

N.C. Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Reuben Young appointed the panel that included two former judges and a former U.S. Senator to investigate the disappearance of the records.

In sum, while we found minor inconsistencies in the stories about the records, we did not find the records themselves or any clear indication of wrongdoing in their disappearance or destruction. To the best of our knowledge, we have exhausted the possibilities but failed to produce definitive answers and bring closure to the matter.

The 10-page report was signed by 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.

Easley told the panel that he was not aware that the records were even kept. The panel found Easley's story credible.

"While it is, of course, possible that it is not true, we can point to nothing that would enable someone to prove it false," the panel wrote.

The panel began its investigation after a Highway Patrol secretary told The News & Observer that she was told to save space on her computer by deleting the records even though she didn't have a shortage of space on her machine. 

Travel records for other years were key to N&O reports that showed Easley took free flights from supporters who had mutually beneficial relationships with Easley.

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.

Read more after the jump.

Gov. Beverly Perdue will lead a delegation to the funeral in Haw River of former Gov. Bob Scott on Tuesday.

Among those expected to attend are former governors Mike Easley, Jim Hunt and Jim Holshouser, Rob Christensen reports. Ex-governor Jim Martin is in Costa Rica and is not expected to attend.

Others scheduled to go to the funeral include former U.S. Senators Robert Morgan and Lauch Faircloth.

The funeral will be held at the Hawfields Presbyterian Church. Scott's body will be pulled by caisson, followed by a riderless horse, to the graveyard.

This is at least the third time the state's political establishment has headed to Haw River for a funeral. The first time was in 1958, when former Gov. Kerr Scott, Bob's father, was buried. The second time was in 1989 when state Sen. Ralph Scott, passed away.

Former U.S. Sen. Robert Morgan remembered former Gov. Bob Scott this morning.

"I think he was one of our best governors," said Morgan, who served as North Carolina's attorney general when Scott was govenor. "He was a governor of the people."

Morgan said Scott was a progressive governor, much like his father before him, Rob Christensen reports.

Morgan recalled that when he was attorney general, Scott was supportive of his efforts to create the N.C. Justice Academy to provide a statewide training facility for law enforcement officers and to beef up the state's crime lab.

"He was very supportive of what we were doing," Morgan said this morning.

Some of Gov. Beverly Perdue's smaller donations are also interesting.

As previously noted, Perdue raised $17.8 million through the end of 2008 for her successful campaign for governor, including a number of political action committees and big donors.

But some of the smaller donors from her final campaign finance report are also worth noting: 

* Former Supreme Court Justice Burley Mitchell gave $2,000.

* Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and his wife Jane gave $2,000. 

* Former Sen. Lauch Faircloth gave $2,000.

* Perdue's recently appointed general counsel, Eddie Speas, gave $1,750.

* Administration Secretary Britt Cobb gave $1,000 on Oct. 28. He is the only member of Gov. Mike Easley's Cabinet to remain under Perdue.

* Former Orange County commissioner Moses Carey gave $300. Perdue appointed him chairman of the Employment Security Commission.

* Perdue's deputy campaign manager, David Kochman, and communications staffer Kennetha Smith each gave $250.

* The head of Perdue's gubernatorial endowment effort, Tom Lambeth, gave $200.

* Former U.S. Sen. Robert Morgan gave $200.

* Noted Washington, D.C., political consultant Donna Brazile gave $100.

Sen.-elect Kay Hagan has firsthand experience in constituent service.

For six months between when she graduated from college in 1975 and started law school, the Greensboro Democrat volunteered for her uncle, Florida Sen. Lawton Chiles.

For three-fourths of the day, she handled constituent service, and then for the remainder of her time she would help run the senators' elevator.

(U.S. senators have a special elevator that the public is not allowed to ride in unless invited. It is now professionally run.)

Hagan has an unusual tie with one of the other interns from her time in Washington.

Don Vaughan, who worked for then Sen. Robert Morgan of North Carolina, won Hagan's old state Senate seat in the November election.

The Eastern District U.S. attorney usually has a strong political patron.

For most of the last 20 years, the federal prosecutor in Raleigh appointed by the president has been closely tied to Sen. Jesse Helms, except during Democratic administrations.

Here is a list of former U.S. attorneys and their patrons:

George Anderson: (1977-1980) Backed by Democratic Sen. Robert Morgan; appointed by President Jimmy Carter.

Sam Currin: (1981-1987) Former Helms aide. Backed by Helms; appointed by President Ronald Reagan.

Margaret Currin: (1988-1993) The wife of the previous U.S. attorney. Backed by Helms; appointed by Reagan.

Janice McKenzie Cole: (1994-2001) Backed by Democratic U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton; appointed by President Bill Clinton. (No Democratic senator at that time.)

Frank Whitney: (2002-2005) Former Helms legislative counsel. Backed by Republican lawyer Tom Ellis, Helms' longtime political strategist; appointed by President George W. Bush.

George Holding: (2005-present) Former Helms aide and Whitney's No. 2 at U.S. attorney's office. Backed by Ellis; appointed by Bush.

State Rep. Mickey Michaux says Kay Hagan will have wide latitude on the next three U.S. attorneys.

The Durham Democrat was appointed as a U.S. attorney from North Carolina's Middle District in 1977 by then Sen. Robert Morgan.

It was the last time that North Carolina had a Democratic senator during an incoming Democratic presidential administration. (The state's senators were both Republicans when Bill Clinton took office in 1992.)

Typically, the senator from the same party as the president has discretion over appointments in that state.

As a state legislator, Michaux had worked with Morgan, who was the state's attorney general before he won election to the Senate. He also had worked as an assistant district attorney and as a lawyer in private practice for many years.

He said a personal relationship with the senator and a solid resume are key to getting the job.

"Keep your eye on Senator Hagan," he said. "She may have had some lawyers who were helpful to her in her campaign. She may be getting some ideas from bar associations in each of the districts. But she has the upper hand."

Hillary Clinton released a list of state politicians who have endorsed her.

The list of 60 names includes former U.S. Sen. Robert Morgan, state Sens. Dan Clodfelter and Julia Boseman, state Reps. Susan Fisher and Ronnie Sutton and Mecklenburg County Commissioners Parks Helms and Jennifer Roberts.

"Hillary is the most qualified person for the job — she is a doer and a fighter,” said Julia Boseman in a statement. "I am impressed by her plans to bring health care to all Americans, lower gas prices, and create renewable energy solutions."

It also includes former state Reps. Steve Dolley, Jim Morgan, Max Melton, and Tom Rabon; and former state Sens. Allen Wellons, Frank Block, Tom Taft, Aaron Plyler and Russell Walker.

County commissioners on the list: Gary Barber of Ashe County; Wade Nelms of Carteret County; Gene Gregory of Currituck County; Kay Cashion of Guilford County; Mike Nelson of Orange County; Charles Ward of Perquimans County; Eugene James and Beth Ward of Pitt County; Tommy Melton of Polk County; Roger Oxendine of Robeson County; John Bell, Atlas Price and Roland "Bud" Gray of Wayne County; Tommy Garner of Yadkin County; and Lindy Brown and Betty Lou Ward of Wake County.

Also on the list: Elon Mayor Jerry Tolley, Roanoke Rapids Mayor D.N. Beale, Princeton Mayor Donald Rains, Ayden Mayor Stephen Tripp, Grimesland Mayor Gerald Whitley, Mount Olive Mayor Ray McDonald Sr. and Yadkinville Mayor Hubert Gregory.