Gov. Mike Easley said Wednesday he would call a special session of the N.C. General Assembly to consider expelling indicted Rep. Thomas Wright, if asked to do so by legislative leaders.
"If they need me to call them back for that purpose, I would do it," Easley said, reports David Ingram at The Charlotte Observer.
His comments come a day after House Speaker Joe Hackney, an Orange County Democrat, discussed the possibility of the House voting to expel Wright following Wright's indictment on six felony charges. The process hasn't been used since the 19th Century. It would have to follow a hearing that would take place early next year.
A Wilmington Democrat, Wright is accused of swindling $350,000 from corporations, his campaign fund and a foundation he controlled. He has refused to resign.
More after the jump.
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Easley said he was encouraged by how most other legislators have distanced themselves from Wright, the latest person to face criminal charges from a series of state and federal corruption investigations in Raleigh.
"He's pretty much removed himself," Easley said. "He hasn't been there, and he's isolated himself. He doesn't have any support from the other legislators."
The governor said he doesn't believe that the accusations about Wright reflect the culture of the legislature.
"They don't want any more to do with him," he said. "They weren't going to try to sweep it under the rug...It tells you that they're thinking right. It's not part of the culture over there."
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