Free Republic

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The former head of North Carolina’s Republican Party formally pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday for his role in one of the state’s biggest political corruption cases. Former GOP Chairman Robin Hayes agreed to plead guilty to lying to federal investigators. He faces up to six months in prison, though prosecutors are likely to ask for less time. No sentencing date has been set. Hayes, 74, is a Concord native who served in Congress for a decade. The former lawmaker also once ran for governor. He was one of four men indicted in March on multiple charges...

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina's largest political donor and three others, including the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, have been arrested on bribery charges. Greg Lindberg, two of his business associates and N.C. GOP Chairman Robin Hayes were all indicted last month, but the indictments were unsealed Tuesday. They turned themselves in to the FBI in Charlotte Tuesday as well and had first appearances before a U.S. magistrate. They're all accused of trying to bribe state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who recorded conversations and worked with the FBI to expose an alleged scheme that would have traded more...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. North Carolina voters aren't likely to get a chance to send a second ex-NFL player to Congress. Former Carolina Panthers safety Mike Minter told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he has decided against seeking the Republican nomination for the 8th District seat in 2010. Ex-Washington Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler, a Democrat, holds the state's 11th District seat. Republicans hosted Minter in Washington earlier this month in hopes the popular ex-Panther would decide to challenge Democrat Larry Kissell, who beat 10-year Republican incumbent Robin Hayes in November's election. Minter said he decided the job would put too much...

Did the U.S. Representative from Concord warm up John McCain's rally Saturday by saying that “liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God”?

Increasing the mandatory retirement age of airline pilots is now in the President's hands, after the Senate voted late Dec. 12 to pass a measure increasing the age from 60 to 65. "Forcing our nation's pilots to retire at 60 is out-of-date and only succeeds in removing our most experienced pilots from our skies," said Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. The law would change Federal Aviation Administration regulations from the 1960s, and would be in line with mandatory retirement age requirements adopted by the Civil Aviation Organization in 2006. The FAA has indicated it...

After receiving local and national publicity as one of several Iraq war veterans running for Congress this year, North Carolina Democrat Tim Dunn in late March suddenly dropped his challenge to 8th District Republican Rep. Robin Hayes. Dunn’s unexpected move was a boost for fellow Democrat Larry Kissell, a social studies teacher who in an instant went from little-noticed longshot to front-runner for the party’s nomination. Fundraising accelerated. Consultants and a pollster were hired. A media strategy was crafted. But Dunn’s dropout was even better news for Hayes, whose chances for winning a fifth term in the potentially competitive 8th...

An Iraq war veteran and lawyer who helped mount a case against Saddam Hussein has become the first Democrat to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes. Tim Dunn of Fayetteville kicked off his bid Wednesday in the 8th District, which runs from Fayetteville to Charlotte. A lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves, Dunn spent eight months in Iraq in 2004. He advised a special tribunal prosecuting the former Iraqi leader and officials of his government. Dunn said he has a "passion for what we're doing over in Iraq" but is troubled by the lack of equipment for U.S. troops...

Deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was “very much involved” with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes said Wednesday on CNN. The Concord Republican’s assertion contradicts accounts by the 9/11 Commission, fellow Republicans in Congress and President Bush. Hayes’ comments followed Bush’s speech at Fort Bragg on Tuesday that made multiple references to the terrorist attacks while defending the war in Iraq, a rhetorical move criticized by Democrats. “I’m saying that Saddam Hussein ... and people like him were very much involved in 9/11,” Hayes said on CNN Live at Daybreak. When challenged by host Carol...

A Republican congressman has joined with African-American clergy and other members of Congress to demand that the House and Senate restore free speech to houses of worship. North Carolina Rep. Walter B. Jones joined with Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) Thursday to drum up support for Jones' bill, the Houses of Worship Freedom of Speech Restoration Act (HR 235). "There is a muzzle upon the clergy. As ministers, we are obligated to speak about the moral and political issues of the day, and taking away that right is harassment. It is wrong, and it is extortion," said...

Good Afternoon, My name is Nick Polyzos and I am the Chairman of the newly founded Union County Young Republicans, based in Monroe, North Carolina. As you can tell, we have a long and tumultuous fight ahead of us this November, with the Democrats trying to regain the presidency, and will pull every tactic to get it. John Edwards is from North Carolina and we are doing our best to make sure that the Tarheel State does not go into the Blue column in November. We are a young fledgling group, that is willing to put its resources to work...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Democratic congressional hopeful Beth Troutman has landed solid support from her old colleagues on the "The West Wing." Martin Sheen, who plays the fictional President Josiah Bartlet on the NBC show, is among several cast members who have contributed to Troutman's campaign to oust incumbent U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, a Republican. Troutman worked on "The West Wing" for four years, most recently as manager of the director-executive producer's office. Other "West Wing" members contributing to Troutman's campaign include series creator Aaron Sorkin, executive producer John Wells and his wife, Marilyn, actor Bradley Whitford and actress Allison Janney....

Dems' eyes are on ex-beauty queen Can she unseat Hayes in 8th District? RONNIE GLASSBERG Staff Writer Daunted by Rep. Robin Hayes' financial muscle, Democrats say they are counting on a former beauty queen to unseat him by drawing on her connections with Hollywood donors. In North Carolina's 8th Congressional District, top Democrats decided to stay out of this year's race, even though some party leaders view Hayes, the incumbent Concord Republican, as vulnerable. That leaves two lesser-known candidates: Mark Ortiz, a Kannapolis Green Party activist running as a Democrat; and Beth Troutman, 27, a former beauty pageant contestant...

Mooresville may be Race City USA and, yes, stock car racing has its roots in the N.C. foothills, but a number of other states have been quietly working to lure the industry away from here with sweet economic incentives. And for good reason: Seventeen years ago, when the last economic impact study on motorsports was done, the industry did a $500 million per year business in North Carolina. Another study is about to be done, and the numbers are certain to far surpass that. If North Carolina ultimately strengthens its grip on motorsports by fending off the overtures of other...

The Army last week approved the transfer of four M8 Armored Gun Systems from contractor storage facilities to the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, NC, sources say, marking the first time the vehicles will be used by the service since the program was terminated in 1996. Proposed in the 1980s as a lightweight combat vehicle that could fit aboard a C-130, the AGS was canceled as the Army struggled to pay for other priorities. Contractor United Defense LP, which fought the cancellation decision, has five M8 AGS vehicles in stock -- four in York, PA, and one in San...

Posted on Thu, Oct. 31, 2002 Hayes objects; TV station pulls ad Attribution of job-loss statement in dispute; Democrats stand fast DAVID PERLMUTT AND MARK WASHBURN Staff Writers At least one Charlotte television station has rejected an ad from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee accusing U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes of breaking a promise when he voted for fast-track legislation in December.Hayes' quibble with the ad is a sentence that says he "cast the deciding vote for a trade bill that will cost North Carolina jobs." The ad attributes that contention to the American Textile Manufacturers Institute.An ATMI spokesman said...