Updated 11/28/2011 09:55 PM
Grand jury indicts 3 with ties to Perdue campaign
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RALEIGH -- A Wake County grand jury indicted three people close to NC Gov. Bev Perdue Monday, following a lengthy investigation into her campaign finances. Prosecutors say they found what they call “campaign finance irregularities” related to Perdue's successful 2008 gubernatorial campaign.
Greensboro businessman Peter Reichard is her former Campaign Finance Director. The indictment says he solicited more than $32,000 in illegal contributions and developed a scheme to funnel the money to pay a campaign worker without reporting it. He is charged with obstruction of justice.
Stubbs said in a prepared statement, "It was never my intent to violate any law and I intend to plead not guilty."
The grand jury report says Morganton attorney Juleigh Sitton was the campaign worker accepting payments through that scheme. She is charged with obstruction of justice and filing a false campaign report.
Indictments also accuse New Bern attorney Trawick "Buzzy" Stubbs Jr., a longtime Perdue family friend, of paying more than $28,000 for previously undisclosed campaign flights and trying to hide the illegal donations. He is charged with obstruction of justice and filing a false campaign report.
An attorney for Reichard said in a statement, “Peter's goal is to work in good faith with the district attorney to see if this case can be resolved without a lengthy and costly trial."
Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby, who is in charge of the investigation, says Gov. Perdue is not a target.
“The conduct of the Governor has not been an issue, nor any other elected official,” Willoughby said. “She cooperated in the investigation, was interviewed. “We asked her not to talk [publicly] about the facts of the case.”
Willoughby says no court hearing has been scheduled yet for this case. He added the investigation is ongoing and there could be more indictments.
The Governor honored Willoughby's request not to comment about the case, but released a written statement saying in part, “I will... reiterate what I made clear at the beginning of the investigation, and what the investigation has confirmed: as a citizen, a candidate for public office, and an elected official, I have strived to follow the rules and laws.”
But republicans point out candidates are ultimately responsible for everything in their campaign.
“You're responsible politically for it,” said Republican Rep. Paul Stam, House Majority Leader. “Whether you're responsible legally for it depends on what you knew, when you knew it, and what you did about it.
Political analysts say the indictments close to Gov. Perdue could impact her bid for re-election.
“She is going to bear some responsibility,” said David McLennan, a political science professor at William Peace University. “Whether that results down the road in more investigation or another indictment, that's a long way to go. But I think the simple fact is candidates can't be completely ignorant of what goes on around them in campaigns, so [Perdue is] going to have that burden to deal with.”
The charges come more than a year after Wake County prosecutor Colon Willoughby said he would investigate payments of air travel for the campaign following a State Board of Elections probe of Perdue's campaign committee. The State Board of Elections fined her committee $30,000.
This is not the first time similar charges have been made. Last fall, the campaign was fined for not properly reporting some of its flights. A grand jury in February also charged a Morganton man over allegations he deceived Perdue's campaign by hiding the source of money used for a flight.
Perdue is seeking re-election in 2012.
Gov. Bev Perdue released a statement regarding Monday's indictment.
Peter Reichard statement
Juleigh Sitton statement
Trawick H. "Buzzy'' Stubbs statement
I am saddened by the news that the Wake County District Attorney has proceeded with criminal indictments in the Perdue Flight Investigation. Since the start of the inquiry, I have cooperated fully and voluntarily with the State Board of Elections, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Wake County District Attorney’s office. I have been open and forthright in all my meetings and in supplying information to the different agencies and offices.
It was never my intent to violate any law and I intend to plead not guilty.
I never asked for any favors nor have I received any personal benefit from my support and help advancing Beverly Perdue’s campaign for Governor.
Obviously, we are disappointed that these indictments were issued. We are prepared to go to trial if necessary. But, Peter’s goal is to work in good faith with the District Attorney to see if this case can be resolved without a lengthy andcostly trial. Peter is a man who accepts responsibility for his actions. He has a long history of service to his community and to theState of North Carolina. I urge everyone to withhold judgment until the case is concluded and the facts are known.
Full statement from North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman David Parker:
"The Wake County District Attorney has repeatedly stated that Governor Perdue is not a focus of his investigation and that there is no indication that the Governor has done anything wrong. The State Board of Elections, in its own earlier investigation, also found no evidence to suggest that Governor Perdue had done anything wrong. It’s time to move on.
It is important to remember that the way this investigation got started is that the Perdue Committee itself proactively informed the State Board of Elections that the Committee had, through its own voluntary internal review, discovered unreported campaign flights. An investigation did not “uncover” these flights. The Perdue Committee brought them to the attention of election authorities and has assisted the subsequent investigations in every way possible.
Republicans are going to use the District Attorney’s action today in every way they can to score cheap political points. They will use it as an excuse to avoid talking about their own record of slashing funding for our schools, colleges and universities. But voters won’t be distracted from the real issues, and they will reject the smear tactics and baseless innuendoes that some Republican leaders will be tempted to resort to as their party’s best chance for victory.
The citizens of North Carolina will re-elect Governor Perdue in 2012 because she has the better vision for North Carolina’s future, particularly when it comes to strengthening our schools and creating economic opportunities for all of our citizens. It’s time to get back to the issues. That’s what voters care about.
We are confident that most North Carolinians share Governor Perdue’s vision for our state and that she will win their votes next November."