The outcome of state and federal investigations into former Gov. Mike Easley has left many North Carolinians asking a lot of questions. The questions focus on not only the one felony conviction of knowingly filing a false campaign report but also around how state and federal prosecutors handled the case. Granted the Supreme Court’s decision in the honest services case certainly hindered prosecutors, but other questions remain: Why was the case assigned to a DA whose only previous experience was with violent crimes? Why didn’t prosecutors know that the statements Easley gave to the State Board of Elections might be immune from prosecution? A lengthy investigation pled to one felony conviction? It implies either a lot of wheel spinning or winking.
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