The state auditor and the State Ethics Commission have ended a battle stemming from an investigation into the handling of then-Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's ethics files.

A state audit released today found that officials with the State Ethics Commission had not intentionally destroyed evidence in the matter, but did find that commission staff had not followed procedures in making the ethics statements available to the public, Dan Kane reports.

The case stems from a visit that Perdue's legal counsel, Will Polk, had made in October 2007, to review her ethics statements, which are an accounting of her financial interests. The statements are intended to help officials avoid conflicts of interest. Polk had been allowed to review the files behind closed doors. An aide, Amanda Thaxton, had noted in an electronic log that this was not the commission's policy; a staff email had told them not to let members of the public review ethics files without staff supervision.

Thaxton filed a complaint to the auditor's office, which then launched an investigation. She was later fired by the commission and has since filed a whistleblower's lawsuit that is pending in state court. The commission has denied that she was fired in retaliation. The audit did not address Thaxton's whistleblower claim. Copies of the log showed that her entry had been removed. But the auditor's report released today found that the change was made prior to the commission being notified of the auditor's investigation, so there was no evidence of tampering.

More after the jump.

   Comments (3)

The State Ethics Commission is asking a Superior Court judge to prevent State Auditor Les Merritt from investigating a claim of preferential treatment for Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic nominee for governor.

The suit claims that Merritt's office has a conflict of interest because its investigations chief, Frank Perry, left the ethics commission a year ago. The suit also claims that Merritt, a Republican seeking re-election, "denigrated" the commission in an hour-long interview with a radio station.

It is a rare case in which one state agency is suing another, reports Dan Kane.

"The commission welcomes an independent and impartial investigation by an appropriate entity that is free from actual and/or perceived conflicts of interest," the suit said.

More after the jump.

   Comments (9)

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue said it was a clerical error that caused a Florida development company to be dropped from her financial disclosure statements in 2003 and 2004.

"I had somebody transpose from one statement to the next," Perdue said. "I assume it was an oversight. There was never any intent" to mislead, Dan Kane and Mark Johnson report.

Her general counsel, Will Polk, went to the State Ethics Commission in October to correct the error. But the visit exposed controversy within the commission. Polk was allowed to review Perdue's statements alone in a closed office, causing a staffer to note the unusual treatment in a visitor's log.

The staffer was fired last month — hours after The News & Observer asked about the log and the commission's policy regarding outside reviews of its records.

Ethics officials said nothing improper happened with Polk's visit. State Auditor Les Merritt is investigating.

The company, BBA Development Corp., was dissolved last month, according to a filing with the Florida Department of State's office.

It was based in Bonita Springs and developed a golf course community there, according to the business web site Manta.com.