Gov. Mike Easley has been stingy about pardons, and there's no sign that he's going to go on a Clinton-like pardon spree in his final weeks.

Easley, a former prosecutor, has received 756 requests for pardons during his nearly eight years in office, according to spokesman Seth Effron. He has granted five, all cases in which DNA or other evidence exonerated the applicant.

Effron said he knew of no forthcoming pardons, but Easley is in office until Jan. 10.

"There are requests pending," Effron said.

Pardons have drawn more scrutiny since then-President Clinton granted 140 pardons on his last day in office in 2001, including for Marc Rich, a fugitive from a multi-million dollar tax evasion case, whose wife had given money to the Clinton library (current headline exhibit: "Art of the Chopper," as in motorcycles) and Hillary Clinton's senate campaign. 

Barack Obama is not staying at Gov. Mike Easley's place.

After the announcement that the Democratic presidential candidate would be staying in "the Asheville area" as he preps for a debate next Tuesday, rumors had arisen that he would stay at the governor's Western Residence.

But it turns out not to be true.

"The rumor is unfounded," said Easley spokesman Seth Effron in an e-mail to Dome.

Gov. Jim Martin got a free ride to Jesse Helms' funeral Tuesday — courtesy of Democratic Gov. Mike Easley.

Easley's office offered Martin a ride aboard the jet the governor often uses on state business. Flight records show the Cessna Citation picked Martin up in Concord in the morning and flew him back after the funeral.

"I was happy to accept that, it saved a couple hours each way," Martin said. "I thought it was a nice gesture."

The two round-trips took less than two hours, according to flight records. The 8-passenger plane costs $770 per hour to operate, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Commerce, which owns it. Martin appeared to be the lone passenger.

Easley spokesman Seth Effron said the Democratic governor offered the plane "as a matter of protocol and professional courtesy to the former governor because this was a matter of state."

Former Gov. Jim Holshouser also attended the funeral, as did other mourners from Charlotte.

Asked how taxpayers might view the trip, Martin said, "If taxpayers would object to that, it probably won't happen again. But I thought it was very thoughtful of (Easley)."

Gov. Mike Easley's plane just landed in Southport.

After attending an economic summit held by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in Chicago this morning, Easley flew back to the Brunswick County airport on a state-owned Cessna Citation Bravo, Ben Niolet reports.

Spokesman Seth Effron said that Easley does not have any public events scheduled "at this time" down East this weekend, so he will reimburse the state for the flight.

"The taxpayers will not pay any expenses related to this travel," he said.

Easley left Raleigh-Durham International airport at 4 p.m. Thursday for Chicago Midway International and landed at 2:25 p.m. today in Brunswick County. 

Gov. Mike Easley's chief legal counsel today declined to comment on the letter he wrote this week saying that "absolutely no evidence" exists to support a former public affairs director's claim that the governor's communications staff directed public information officials in executive branch agencies to destroy e-mails after sending them to the governor's office.

In a brief interview, Chief Legal Counsel Reuben F. Young, declined to say whether the governor's press aides had denied telling the agency spokespeople to kill e-mails, or what he meant by saying there was no evidence it happened, reports Dan Kane.

Young repeatedly referred all questions to the governor's communications staff.

"I understand your question and I'm not giving you a hard time here," Young said. "I just want you to understand my response and that is I will refer you to the press office."

More after the jump.

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Eric Montross, left, Montross' son Andrew and Gov. Mike Easley at halftime during the UNC-Virginia Tech basketball game Saturday. (Courtesy of governor's office)

Gov. Mike Easley was called out at the UNC-Virginia Tech basketball game Saturday for not turning it blue.

A camera zoomed in on him, and a message on the arena screen demanded, "Put your shirt on."

Everyone at the game was given a Carolina blue t-shirt and most people in attendance were wearing it.

Easley was not, though, until he saw his face on the big screen. He quickly put on the argyle-patterned t-shirt and flashed a smile to the camera.

Seth Effron, a spokesman for Easley, defended the governor, saying he did not have enough time to put on the shirt before cameras took aim.

Others at the game were also put in the hot seat, and all but two of them threw on the shirt.

Mike Easley did not endorse Hillary Clinton today.

But he did have a slip of the tongue that sure made it sound like he was.

While speaking at an education forum this morning, the governor said that he hopes the next president will do more for education.

"I hope the federal government will play a bigger role as we move into ... into the next presidency ... and I think she will," he said.

There were scattered laughs and even a few groans from the audience, to which Easley responded enigmatically, "You've got to try."

Spokesman Seth Effron said that the pronoun was not an endorsement in the presidential race and that the governor meant to say "he or she" in his remarks but got tongue-tied.

"He's not trying to endorse," he said.

Gov. Mike Easley has to catch up on some summer reading.

Just, say, a few hundred bills. The governor plans to read each piece of legislation the General Assembly sent him before deciding whether to sign it into law, spokesman Seth Effron said.

That included the new 298-page state budget, Matthew Eisley reports.

"He reads the whoooooole thing," Effron said.

And apparently Easley pays close attention, reading like a would-be editor.

"If he had a line-item veto," Effron said, "we'd be here a long time."