Merritt: What's ethics comm. hiding?

Submitted by markjohnson on September 26, 2008 - 1:39pm.
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State Auditor Les Merritt offered the following response to criticism earlier Friday by Robert Farmer, chair of the state ethics commission:

"The public should be extremely disappointed in Mr. Farmer's unmeasured rhetoric targeting the Office of the State Auditor especially when the Office of State Personnel and the Office of State Budget discovered similar internal problems at the Ethics Commission. The facts are that the Ethics Commission staff has sued to block the State Auditor's investigation into the altering of public records, special treatment for high level government aides, and the potential retaliatory firing of a commission employee for exposing the possible cover-up. The Commission staff's disrespect for public transparency by suing to block an investigation and now Mr. Farmer's unmeasured rhetoric only feed the speculation by the public and the news media: What are they trying to hide?"

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Re: Merritt: What's ethics comm. hiding?

Submitted by Atnor on September 27, 2008 - 12:34am.

I dont care about Perdue, trying to drag her into this particular situation is silly. The hinderance of this investigation by the Ethics Office... that I find deeply disturbing, almost as disturbing as the events being investigated. Keep it up Les Merritt :)

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Re: Merritt: What's ethics comm. hiding?

Submitted by FFC1304 on September 26, 2008 - 7:44pm.

My first thought was Beverly Perdue!!! folks we need to send her packing back east!

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Re: Merritt: What's ethics comm. hiding?

Submitted by Isaac136 on September 26, 2008 - 3:00pm.

Oh pulease. "A lot of problems with the Ethics Commission revolve around Beverly"?

What constitutes "a lot of" in your world?

How is it her fault that an attorney, whose purpose was to correct a filing (sooo sinister!), arrived when someone else was using the regular room that is used for such examinations? Did she RIG that, Mr. Braintrust?

How is it Beverly Perdue's fault that this deviation from regular protocol was recorded by one person and erased by another? Ya really think there was a phone call with Bev cupping her mouth as she whispered into the receiver, "Oh MY GOD, my attorney was looking at a file and no one watched to see if he used white-out or left eraser smudges! Remove all evidence of his presence!"

Take off your foil beanie. Try to focus on the real world, just long enough to imagine how it could possibly be worth a nickel to her campaign to interfere with the Ethics Commission squabble?

Or, stay up there in outer-space with the lamest concept of a criminal conspiracy I've heard since Crest was in league with Satan to flouridate the water.

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Perdue behind block by Ethics Comm?

Submitted by concerned53 on September 26, 2008 - 2:48pm.

It sure appears that a lot of problems with the Ethics Commission revolve around Beverly. In addition, members of the Ethics Commission are large contributors to her campaign. I bet that Beverly and her campaign team are manipulating this block by Farmer given that she has more to lose than any one else if the truth comes out. These are no longer just ethical problems by Beverly and Farmer, but bordering on criminal! Keep it up Les!

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