Ruffin Poole, former general counsel to former Gov. Mike Easley has
filed a lawsuit seeking to quash a subpoena that would have required
him to testify today.

Poole, who is now a law partner to Easley, sued the board Monday.
Board chairman Larry Leake said the board was served just before noon.

The Attorney General's office is handling the board's position on the lawsuit.

According to a copy of the suit, Poole is listing several reasons to prevent him from testifying. He contends the subpoena:

— "fails to allow a reasonable time for compliance;"

— "requires disclosure of privileged or otherwise protected matter;"

— "subjects a person to an undue burden;"

— "is otherwise unreasonable or oppressive" and "procedurally defective."

Poole has asked that he provide an affadavit for the court to review under seal that would help support his legal argument regarding lawyer-client privilege. 

Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens received the suit shortly after noon. He said he could not hear it because he's concerned about the appearance of a conflict of interest.

"I know all these people and have known them for a long time," Stephens said.

He was seeking a judge to hear the lawsuit this afternoon. Poole's attorney, Joe Zeszotarski, could not be reached.

Documents:

The State Board of Elections may get to the bottom of the State Highway Patrol's missing records into former Gov. Mike Easley's travels before an independent inquiry releases its findings.

Patrol Capt. Alan Melvin is listed among the witnesses subpoenaed to testify this week. He ran Easley's security detail and in early 2006, told a patrol secretary to download copies of the then governor's air travels to a disk, give it to Melvin and then delete the files to free up space on the computer. The files for 2005 still have not been found.

N.C. Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young announced an independent inquiry into the missing files after an internal patrol investigation raised more questions than it answered.

That independent inquiry began in late August with two former state judges, Willis Whichard and Ralph Walker, and former U.S. Sen. Robert Morgan conducting the probe. But as of today — two months later — the probe has yet to report its work.

Today, patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said in a statement that the records are still missing and the FBI, which took control of a patrol computer used by the detail, has not reported finding any information that would solve the mystery.

The State Board of Elections opened a hearing into the campaign finance activity of former Gov. Mike Easley.

Board of Elections chairman Larry Leake called the hearing to order right at 11 a.m., recognized the attorneys representing the various parties involved in the case. Leake then moved the board into a closed session to discuss how to proceed with its criminal inquiry.

David Long, a lawyer for Easley's campaign, rose to question whether Leake meant to call the hearing "criminal."

The head of the N.C. Democratic Party said this week's State Board of Elections hearings are necessary to restore trust and integrity.

The elections board is investigating the campaign finance activity of former Gov. Mike Easley. Among the questions surrounding Easley is whether he used the state party to funnel illegal or improper contributions.

Party Executive Director Andrew Whalen released a statement Monday morning.

For our democracy to function effectively, it is imperative that the people
of North Carolina have confidence in the electoral process. We are
confident that a fair, impartial, and unbiased hearing by the State
Board of Elections will help restore and maintain trust in the
integrity of our political system. The North Carolina Democratic Party
has cooperated fully with the SBOE and will continue to do so
throughout this hearing.

Today's hearing officially begins at 11 a.m., but if history is a guide there will be delays. The board could go into a closed session to discuss legal matters. It also could take up the Wake County school board runoff issue. And there could be general delays to work out any technical glitches. Stay tuned to newsobserver.com and this blog for updates throughout the day.

The N&O's Dan Kane profiled the top investigator for the state Board of Elections, Kim Strach, in 2007. She is, he wrote, "resolute about bringing the powerful to justice."

Testimony from Scott Falmlen in Florida led to a statement that he had made "purposeful misstatements."

Former state auditor Ralph Campbell Jr. and Fayetteville car dealer Robert F. Bleecker have been issued subpoenas for the Easley hearing, which begins Monday.

Our friends at Under the Dome have a nice recap of past state Board of Elections hearings.

Some new details were included in the Sunday print edition story in advance of the elections hearing involving Mike Easley. One is how McQueen Campbell and his one-time mentor, Steve Stroud, ended up on opposite sides of a land deal. The story shows that Campbell and Gary Allen, who was part of the Cannonsgate development in which Easley got a lot, were offering "under the table" money to win another deal. The story discloses that real estate commission investigators have been asking about it.