Lt. Gov. Dan Forest's newest baseless claim: “We’re like, the most transparent people ever.”
Today on a Wilmington-based talk radio show Lt. Governor Dan Forest bragged about his commitment to transparency.
“We have the most aboveboard campaign that's ever existed in the history of NC. We're like, the most transparent people ever. Everything we do shows up on Facebook. So you don't have to search very far to figure out what we're doing on any given day.” - Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, 2/12/2020
His comment comes after Forest refused to return a request for public records for 10 months. These records could provide crucial insight into the Lt. Governor’s ties to Greg Lindberg, the man at the center of the bribery scandal involving the state Republican Party. Lindberg’s federal corruption trial is scheduled to begin early next week in Charlotte.
Read MoreElusive Sen. Burr joins Republican establishment support of Tillis as primary heats up
Even NC’s other Senator, Richard Burr, who usually avoids speaking publicly, found strong words in opposition to Tillis’s primary challenger Garland Tucker. Politico reported that Burr said Tucker’s election campaign was nothing more than Conservative strategist and the late Sen. Jesse Helms aide Carter Wrenn’s “retirement fund.”
Read More“This is Carter Wrenn’s retirement fund. That’s the only reason he’s got Garland running,” Burr said of the race. (Politico, 11/18/19)
We still don’t know what Greg Lindberg wanted from Dan Forest
In April 2019 Real Facts NC filed requests for records from Lt. Governor Dan Forest that could provide crucial insight into ties to the Greg Lindberg bribery scandal. Forest’s office has stonewalled the request.
Last week Greg Lindberg asked a federal court to dismiss his indictment on bribery charges. Lindberg claimed that his bribes, funneled through the NCGOP and its former chairman Robin Hayes, did not constitute “official acts.” The request for dismissal could mean the NCGOP and Forest have even more at stake in connection to the Lindberg scandal.
Read MoreLt. Dan is offended by women's underwear, but not President Trump's "history" with lingerie
Despite co-founding a nonprofit that deducts points from companies for not “respect[ing] and valu[ing] our biblically based worldview” Lt. Gov. Dan Forest supports Donald Trump, a man who certainly would not receive a high score. Forest’s nonprofit, Faith Driven Consumer (FDC), rated companies based on their religious practices on a scale of 0 to 100. Forest’s “Christian” offense at images of women in lingerie feels disingenuous when compared with Trump’s record. A record that Forest has worked hard to align himself closely with.
According to a NC Policy Watch report, Forest’s conservative Christian nonprofit told consumers to stay away from Sears because the store’s catalogue included photos of women wearing lingerie. Forest, however, has worked hard to align his campaign for governor with President Donald Trump despite Trump’s storied history with lingerie and the people who wear it. Trump was accused of sexual assault in the lingerie department of an upscale department store in New York City, where he asked a woman to try on lingerie (in addition to several other women accusing Trump of sexual assault). Trump owned the Miss USA pageant in 2010 when he defended Miss USA sharing photos in lingerie. In 2017 Ivanka Trump submitted a trademark request for a lingerie company.
Recently, Forest bragged about a shout-out from Trump at the Greenville, NC, rally where Trump supporters shouted “send her back” in reference to Rep. Illhan Omar (D-MN). Trump also verbally attacked other Democratic women in Congress.
Read MoreDid House Republican Leader Rep. John Bell let slip long-time House member’s retirement plans?
Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne), who’s been a bellwether before on changes to House Republican’s electoral plans, may have let more secrets slip from the witness stand on Wednesday.
Bell was questioned during the eighth day of testimony in the Common Cause v Lewisgerrymandering trial and said Rep. David Lewis’s (R-Harnett) traditionally strong Republican district might get more competitive in 2020. When pressed, Bell refused to confirm or deny Lewis’s electoral plans.
Lauren Horsch of the NC Insider tweeted that Lewis had no plans to retire at the moment, but Lewis has been known to "obfuscate."
Read MoreWhat did Greg Lindberg want from Dan Forest?
Real Facts NC seeking records from Department of Insurance, Lt. Governor Dan Forest that could provide crucial insight into ties to Greg Lindberg, bribery scandal
Real Facts NC filed requests with the NC Department of Insurance and the Lieutenant Governor’s office Thursday seeking records of contact with Greg Lindberg and other indicted individuals, and public figures with known relationships to Lindberg and his network in the bribery scandal rocking the NCGOP.
The group is specifically seeking all correspondence between both departments and Robin Hayes, Greg Lindberg, John Gray, and John Palermo, the four men indicted on bribery charges, as well as correspondence between both departments and Rep. Mark Walker, mentioned in the indictment as “Public Official A.” Real Facts is also seeking correspondence between the departments and former Sen. Wes Meredith (R-Cumberland) who took nearly $40,000 from Lindberg and immediately filed a bill backed by Lindberg’s Eli Global.
Read MorePat McCrory’s “Second Chance” Sweeps Previous Attempt at Teaching Under the Rug
According to his admissions on conservative talk radio, Pat McCrory may be getting the opportunity to avenge a rejection he’s carried since high school.
In early February, former Governor Pat McCrory began a fellowship with the UNC Institute of Politics, where he will be hosting a not-for-credit leadership seminar-lecture series. For the record, this series is neither for credit nor a formal academic class hosted in any part of the university’s curriculum, but rather a not-for-credit series hosted by a student group. On his podcast, he announced his not-for-credit series, titled “Hard Lessons of Leadership: An Insider’s Look That You Won’t Read In A Textbook,” and divulged the topics and titles for each module. He then mentioned multiple times that he was very thankful for this position because as a high school graduate, he was rejected from UNC-Chapel Hill and is now very excited to have his “second chance” to attend and teach his not-for-credit seminar.
Read MoreMark Johnson on School Nutrition: A Close Reading
A few days ago, Superintendent of public instruction Mark Johnson sent out the mailer below on school nutrition. School nutrition remains a critical battleground as students and families battle food insecurity amidst stagnating wages and continual budget cuts in North Carolina.
Real Facts previously documented how Johnson used the NC public schools email list as his personal blog. Now, it seems that Johnson has moved to glossy mailers as a medium for his vacuous nutrition advice. Below, find an annotated version of Johnson’s note.
Read MoreVideo: Lt. Gov. Dan Forest knows a lot about how to commit voter fraud
In a video presumably produced in the Lt. Governors office donor-funded TV studio, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest explains a "theoretical" method for committing voter fraud, "just for fun."
The video, posted to Facebook by the Republican Council of State Caucus, goes into explicit detail about a plan that Forest claims liberal groups might use to steal votes. Under the guise of advocating in favor of a voter ID constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall, Forest lays out a specific plan to rig the election.
The Republican Council of State Caucus was founded by Forest as a fundraising arm for Republican members of the Council of State, but has only one other member, Superintendent Mark Johnson, despite there being four other Republicans on the Council of State.
It is no surprise that other Republicans are distancing themselves from the polarizing Forest and Johnson. In addition to endorsing this method of rigging elections, the pair have ties to the abusive Word of Faith church and a controversial network of charter schools . Johnson's new chief of staff, a Forest donor, once criticized public schools for "milking the federal government" for free and reduced lunch which is concerning for the person running the state's public school system.
Forest will likely earn the Republican nomination to challenge Governor Roy Cooper in 2020 and Mark Johnson has hinted he wants the Lt. Governorship, no doubt to follow in Forest's footsteps. Now they have laid out a plan to get ahead in 2020.
Read More
Video: Dan Forest says the NCGA has done a “great job” drawing maps that have been ruled unconstitutional four times and counting
Forest, during a Facebook Live he hosted on Wednesday, commended the “great job” the General Assembly has done drawing maps.
“The General Assembly has done a great job complying with the rules of the courts to draw these districts.”
Not quite
- 2011 Legislative districts: ruled unconstitutional racial gerrymanders by the United States Supreme Court in 2017
- 2016 Congressional districts: struck down by a panel of federal judges this week as a partisan gerrymander
- 2015 Wake County Commission districts: struck down by the 4th Circuit in 2016
- 2015 Greensboro City Council districts: struck down by Federal Middle District in 2017