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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 far more than it got.
The board heard from Easley's former campaign treasurer, lobbyist Dave Horne; finance director Michael Hayden and strategist Mac McCorkle. Gary Allen, a Charlotte-area developer and major contributor, also testified about two $50,000 contributions he gave to the party in 2003 and 2004.
None said they were involved in or were aware of efforts to use the party to funnel large contributions to Easley's campaigns in 2000 and 2004.
"I would never intentionally break the law," said Hayden, who has also worked on governors' campaigns in South Carolina and Oklahoma.
Exceeding the campaign contribution limit laws is a misdemeanor, while filing false campaign reports is a felony, board chairman Larry Leake said. The state has limited individual campaign contributions to $4,000 per election cycle, and prevented businesses from giving in order to limit the influence of well-heeled interests in elections. If the board believes a crime has been committed it will send evidence to prosecutors.
On Monday, two donors to the Easley campaign testified that campaign aides told them to donate to the Democratic Party, and that their contributions would be forwarded to the Easley campaign. One of the fundraisers, Wilmington developer Lanny Wilson, also testified that Allen gave the party $50,000 in 2003, probably with the idea that it would eventually return to the Easley campaign.
Internal campaign documents the board introduced Tuesday bolstered those assertions. Two memos written by Easley campaign manager Jay Reiff in May 2000 urged the campaign to take advantage of a "loophole" in state law that allows unlimited non-cash contributions by the party to candidates.
"I propose we initiate a large donor program through the [state party] immediately," Reiff wrote. "We will be competing directly with the House and Senate committees over big donors, so it's critical we place someone within the [party] to get their hands on the money first. We can pay for all our expenses this way, including, research, polling, focus groups, phones, direct mail, salaries production costs, etc."
Campaign manager won't testify
Reiff has been subpoenaed to appear at the board's inquiry, but will not. Leake said Reiff is in Virginia, beyond the state's reach, and cannot be compelled to testify.
Another Easley memo from the 2004 campaign, written by Hayden and labeled "Finance Plan," discusses running contributions through the party or political advocacy groups. "This gives us the ability to raise money from entities thought prohibited such as corporations and sets new limits to how much we can receive," said the plan, which appeared to be intended for Easley to read.
Hayden suggested in the plan that "controversial individuals who we would not wish to show on our report can be run through" the Democratic Governors Association.
Repeated questions to Hayden and Horne brought no confirmation. They said they had limited discussions with Easley about fundraising. Hayden said he could not confirm that he wrote the finance plan, though he said it looked like something he might draft.
Allen, the Charlotte developer who now lives in Florida, did not support Wilson's testimony regarding Allen's $50,000 donation.
At times, election board members expressed exasperation. The board tried to home in on a comment Horne made about a group of people involved in the campaign who would be involved in major fundraising decisions. But Horne could only name one other person, R.V. Owens, a nephew to Senate leader Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat.
"I was disappointed and surprised that they couldn't remember more than they did," board member Charles Winfree said after Tuesday's testimony. "Mr. Hayden, Mr. Horne, and Mr. Allen in particular seemed like they were not able to remember things that I would think they ordinarily could remember."
Attorney: No illegal scheme
Jim Cooney, an attorney for the state Democratic Party, dismissed the notion of an illegal fundraising scheme as he questioned Horne. Cooney said that Easley's campaign committee raised far more money for the party than it got back.
Cooney used an easel to list the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Easley raised for the party as part of coordinated campaigns for all statewide candidates.
"If the plan was to have the Easley campaign funded through donations from the North Carolina Democratic Party, it is fair to say it was a miserable failure," Cooney said.
But board members noted that the numbers Cooney displayed were not supported by any evidence presented Tuesday, nor was Cooney a sworn witness.
"Have they been verified by us?" Leake said. "No, they have not. But we are working on it."
