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 MoreWhile we don’t know what Lindberg wanted from Dan Forest, we do know what he wanted from former Sen. Wesley Meredith, who has a long history of self-dealing.
Meredith received a large donation, nearly $40,000, from Lindberg and his associates after he filed a bill that tinkered with NC insurance regulations. The bill was backed by Lindberg’s company and would have changed regulation around the type of investments insurers are prohibited from making.
Read MoreLast 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 MoreUpdate: View the records we received from Sen. Bishop's office in respose to this request here.
Real Facts NC seeking records from Senator Bishop on his meetings with lobbyists and connections to NCGOP Corruption Scandal
Bishop concealed meetings with lobbyists and distanced himself from the Robin Hayes indictment and Mark Harris election fraud. What isn’t he telling voters?
Real Facts NC filed requests with the office of NC Senator Bishop for correspondence with key lobbyists and special interests, as well as actors related to corruption within his party.
The group is specifically seeking Senator Bishop’s calendar, to understand who he meets with in his public office, information Senator Bishop previously refused to share. Senator Bishop’s refusal to share who he met with underlines the inexplicable fact he was the only Senator, of either party, to vote against legislation that would make prescription drugs more affordable.
Real Facts also seeks Senator Bishop’s correspondence with Rev. Mark Harris, who he endorsed, as well as Kelly Tain, Bishop’s long-time campaign manager and a political consultant. Tain also worked for Harris on his now-invalidated campaign for the 9th District seat that was “tainted” by election fraud.
Records concerning Bishop’s ties to recently indicted NCGOP Chairman Robin Hayes are also sought to find out if he is using his public office for political work. Bishop tried distance himself from Hayes and outgoing Executive Director of the NCGOP Dallas Woodhouse in recent weeks.
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Some #ncpol officials have made some questionable social media choices and we’ve picked our ten favorite fails. They include tweets, questionable Twitter likes, spelling errors, and all-around bad social media etiquette…especially for someone serving in public office. While many of these are lighthearted in nature, several display concerning, often sexist, tendencies of some of the men seeking office this year.
Read MoreIn this Real Facts Legislator Profile, we focus on Rep. Chris Malone, the Republican representative from District 35 and Deputy Majority Whip for the 2017-2018 legislative session. He was first elected in 2012 and currently serves as the chair of the Wildlife Resources Committee and the Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee and vice chair of the Appropriations Committee. Malone’s political career started over 15 years ago as a Wake Forest Town Commissioner in 2001. He was on the Wake County School Board in 2009 until his resignation in 2012. During his time on the school board, he was called a “hard-liner” who “served without distinction.” As a Representative, Malone has sponsored bills that aimed to restore partisan judicial elections and bar federal Medicaid expansion. After being delinquent at least 25 times paying them, Malone tried to repeal motor vehicle renewal and property taxes – while voting to raise sales taxes on working families. Read more here.
Summary
Governor McCrory intervened on behalf of a donor and friend to extend a private prison contract over the objections of his own prison officials. Here are the facts: McCrory has received $12,000 in campaign contributions from Graeme Keith of The Keith Corporation, his son, and their busine…
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