Shanahan: SEANC wanted quid pro quo

An attorney for Richard Moore said a state worker's lawsuit was ironic.

After a hearing in Wake County Superior Court today, Raleigh attorney Kieran Shanahan said that the State Employees Association of North Carolina originally filed a public records lawsuit because it wanted to see if there was any evidence that Moore had improper dealings with pension fund managers.

But he argued that SEANC's proposal to drop the lawsuit was itself improper.

"They're claiming they started the case because somehow they're protecting against a quid pro quo, and yet they unlawfully have suggested a quid pro quo for a settlement," he told Dome.

Shanahan, a prominent Raleigh Republican, went on to attack SEANC's recent decision to affiliate with the national Service Employees International Union.

"The organization is in trouble; now they've associated with a union," he said. "Those aren't North Carolina values at all."

As for the lawsuit, Shanahan argued that Moore not only answered SEANC's request for public records, but gave them "special treatment," including a personal 90-minute presentation on the records.