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.




Re: Farmer blasts Merritt on ethics
Is being on a board for a bank against the rules? If so, why hasnt any DemocRAT (to use your phrasing) :) called him on it and filed a complaint? Is the N&O sitting on this supposed large breach of ethics? I have read multiple instances of Merritt investigating things in state governement, and, in my experience, it seems he's been on the correct side of the particular issue. I had no idea as to his political affiliation, I just knew when I read stories in the N&O that dont pass the smell test, Merritt seems right on top of it. In this particular issue, sounds to me like someone deleted a log when they shouldnt have, and fired someone who spoke up, and then seems to be covering it up and stonewalling. Sounds to me he's doing exactly what he should.