Free Republic

A federal grand jury today charged Ruffin Poole, counsel and close aide to former Gov. Mike Easley, with 51 counts of corruption. The 64-page indictment alleges that Poole, 37, of Raleigh, taking action in exchange for illegal inducements. It is the first indictment issued in a lengthy federal probe surrounding Easley, who was governor from 2001 until last January.

Still burning over Rep. Larry Kissell's health care vote, some Democrats in North Carolina's 8th Congressional District are courting a Charlotte attorney to mount a primary challenge. The courtee is Chris Kouri, a former Ivy League football player who ran for the seat in 2002, upsetting a better known Democrat in the primary before losing to Republican Robin Hayes, Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer reports. "I think it’s a legitimate groundswell," said Mecklenburg County Democratic chairman Joel Ford. "Chris Kouri is entertaining it. And I believe that if Chris gets enough grassroots support he’ll run." Kouri, general counsel and...

RALEIGH Internal documents from former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign committee suggest a concerted effort to run donations illegally through the N.C. Democratic Party to circumvent contribution limits. The evidence, released Tuesday by the State Board of Elections, included internal campaign memos that outlined ways to extract more money from donors than they could get with straightforward contributions to Easley's two campaigns for governor. The board's questions about the memos were greeted with denials and fuzzy memories from two Easley campaign officials and a top donor. And attorneys for the state Democratic Party contended that Easley's campaign gave to the party...

RALEIGH — Sen. Larry Shaw of Fayetteville has been elected chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Shaw, a Democrat, has served on the organization’s board for three years. He described the council, known as CAIR, as a civil rights organization. Shaw said he looks forward to partnering with President Obama’s administration to protect civil liberties and help improve America’s international image. “We just want to work with them to foster better understanding and mutual accommodating,” Shaw said. The council is active on other issues, he said, such as sensitivity training with law enforcement and the efforts to bring peace...