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A few last words on Easley

Chances are, if you are at all interested in the alleged transgressions of former Gov. Mike Easley, you’re fully up to speed on all of this. But by way of a recapping the State Board of Elections hearings:

• The N+O’s Andrew Curlis tells us why the public scrutiny of Easley is far from over. Also linked to that story is a good roundup of the N+O’s coverage.
• If you’re looking for a quick and dirty wrap up, my story from Saturday’s paper is here. WUNC’s Laura Leslie has a link to her radio this piece at her blog.
• My Sunday story looked at changes to state law that might come in reaction to the Easley mess, if the honorables find themselves inclined to react and not just try to forget the whole mess ever happened.
• The N+O’s Rob Christensen has one look at SBOE Chairman Larry Leake, who basically got good reviews for his dogged interrogation of witnesses last week. I very much liked Ashville’s Jordan Schrader’s profile of Leake as well.

Of course, the board hearings raised more questions than they might have answered. Here are a few of mine:

What exactly would Ruffin Poole have said? The young lawyer who handled board and commission appointments might have been called a patronage chief in an earlier era. Would he have been able to close the circle on the questions about why Easley donors were giving large sums to the Democratic Party?

Do we believe McQueen Campbell or Easley? Campbell is a family friend who provided the most damning testimony against Easley last week. In particular, he said Easley asked him to submit bogus invoice in order to get reimbursed for home repairs done to the governor’s personal residence.

Do we believe Easley? Was he really “vacuuming a fireplace” the last time he talked to Bob Bleecker on the phone. (Who vacuums while they’re on the phone?) Was he really concerned about losing his homeowners policy if he reported a claim? (As Leake asked, what insurance company is going to cancel the coverage of the governor of North Carolina for a legit claim?)

What will come of the grand jury hearings? Federal investigators have been looking at things like how Mary Easley (the governor’s wife) landed sweet six-figure gig at N.C. State and whether Easley might have improperly benefited from a land deal down east. Will all of that be dismissed or become the basis for a new and much more serious proceeding?

Which narrative of Easley’s career do we believe?

• Was he the former DA and Attorney General who transitioned from a career law and order man to the guy who cared about remaking the state’s education system? Is all the sketchy stuff surrounding his time in office just the result of other bad actors, sycophants and poor memories?
   
• Or somewhere along the way, either through malice of forethought or the gradual embrace of the idea that one is just a little bit more important than everyone else, did Easley engage in a pattern of behavior through which he tried to improperly enrich himself?

I’m not going to answer these questions today. But if Easley’s case follows what has become an all too familiar pattern in this state, we may have a federal prosecutor answer those questions before too long.