[Locomotive Breath]

"I almost un-appointed him when he decided to run,"...

Yeah - he says that NOW. And he says it in a foreign country.

[Locomotive Breath]

ping

[rickdylan]

The Fong is the smallest part of the picture of what has happened at Duke. If Fong had never been born another catalyst would have come along a month or three months later and the story would have played out with slight changes in details.

[rickdylan]

I mean, the people of Durham NC believe they can vote themselves a human sacrafice and the demokkkrat pols of NC haven't disappointed them yet.

[Alia]

NC *Ping*

Please FRmail Constitution Day OR TaxRelief OR Alia if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.

[srmorton]

I don't believe him for a minute. If Nifong really promised not to run for the office (which I doubt), it would seem to me that a man who breaks his word in that way should not have been supported in his run for office. If it was possible for Easley to "un-appoint" him, that would have been the time to do so. At the very least, he could have failed to support Nifong. I don't remember if Easley formally endorsed Nifong or not, but he certainly did not express any reservations about him. It's just another example of the NC Democrat party "good ole' boy network.

[kalee]

So now Easley has turned against Nifong. I think Nifong is finished.

[kindred]

(Gov.) Easley told law students in New York that Nifong's decision to seek office in last fall's election almost prompted him to consider yanking Nifong from office.


Well, what's stopping you now?

[scrabblehack]

Does the governor have the power to fire a district attorney? I assume so by the way he talks....but in view of the fact that it is an elected position, I am inclined to think that he has the power to fill vacancies, but not fire. I'm pretty sure that's how it worked in Pennsylvania, but I'm not sure about North Carolina.

[SmoothTalker]

Sleazly weighs in now?

[Crawdad]

Isn't this akin to Kerry going on foreign soil and critizing our country?
Why did he have to go all the way to NY to make these statements?

[bert]

Gubanatorial CYA.....

[F.J. Mitchell]

It's cover your own @$$ time, for all the good ol' members of the good ol' boy system of justice, here in North Carolina.

[RecallMoran]

Easley is full of baloney. If he really believed this, he had ample opportunity to do something about it. Methinks his political advisors determined that Easley is taking a hit in this too and we are witnessing a lame effort at damage control.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Well hell's bells... Easley has no 'nads.

Says it to a bunch of strangers in NY and not to the citizens of NC or Durham????

[sweet_diane]

A politician admitting he did something wrong?

I'm speechless

[rwilson99]

Considering the nature of Mr. Nifong's conduct the next step is to ask the Governor to step down.

[mewzilla]

Gov. Mike Easley said last month that picking Mike Nifong to be Durham's district attorney was the worst appointment of his career, and he said Nifong broke his promise not to run for the office.

Did Easley ever mention this before the election?

[nopardons]

bttt

[JLS]

We may have to believe Easley after what Professor Johnson has reported today at this site:

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/search/label/Nifong

The key part is:

"The Easley press release announcing Nifong's appointment in 2005 was entitled, "GOV. EASLEY APPOINTS NIFONG AS INTERIM D.A," and opened with the following sentence: "Gov. Mike Easley today appointed Michael B. Nifong as Interim District Attorney for the 14th Prosecutorial District (Durham County)."

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/News_FullStory.asp?id=1993

Compare that approach to Easley press releases following the appointment of D.A. Scott Thomas (Craven County)

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/News_FullStory.asp?id=2754

"and Doug Henderson (Guilford County)."

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/News_FullStory.asp?id=2754

No mention of "interim" in either the title or the body of the press release."