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Thurs: Proud Mary
posted at 2009-05-21 23:12 | Last modified 2009-05-25 14:06
Attorney Marvin Schiller held a press conference today to announce that Easley will remain on the faculty at NC State despite widespread calls for her to leave her highly-paid post.
NCSU officials have been called before a federal grand jury investigating the political dealings of her husband, former governor Mike Easley. Schiller says “the unpleasantness” revolves around Mike Easley, not his wife, and Mary Easley shouldn’t be punished for it.
“Mary has acted at all times in an appropriate, above-board, highly ethical manner that has been transparent for everybody to see.”
When asked, Schiller said Mary Easley has not been subpoenaed, and as far as he knows, is not the target of the probe.
“There may be some closet conspiratorial theorists who want to try to connect dots. But the connections are not there. There is NO connection of any conspiriatorial dot.”
When asked, Schiller didn’t deny that Mary Easley knew family friend (and free pilot) NCSU Board of Trustees’ chairman McQueen Campbell was dropping her name in the ear of NCSU chancellor James Oblinger and then-provost Larry Nielsen. But whether or not Easley knew about it, Schiller argued, it wasn’t unethical. In fact, he argued the opposite case: if Campbell knew a qualified applicant was interested, he’d have had an ethical obligation to pass it on to school leaders.
As for her fundraising from politically active corporations, Schiller says Oblinger and Nielsen knew what she was doing -- and if they saw an ethical issue, they didn’t say so. (Mary Easley, who stood smiling and frozen at Schiller’s side, nodded vigorously at this.) “These businesses are big boys and girls,” Schiller said, and they could decide for themselves to whom to give money. He even compared Easley’s fundraising to that of UNC-TV -- though as far as I know, no spouse of a sitting governor has ever signed a six-figure contract to raise money for public television.
Schiller says Easley won (and kept) the job on her own merits. To bolster her case, he read from several glowing job reviews, plus a handwritten letter from Erskine Bowles in 2005. The way Schiller read it, it was hard to tell whether Bowles was trying to hire Easley or woo her. “When do I get to vote for you?” Bowles asked her. Here’s Schiller reading the letter:
Listen Now!
Fan letters notwithstanding, Bowles was one of the first to call for Easley’s resignation. Schiller said Easley was “perplexed” by Bowles’ about-face. And, he pointed out, Easley’s five year, $850K contract is as valid as the day it was signed, suggesting anyone who says otherwise is moved by the “political winds of the moment.”
“In that case, it’s unfair to Mary Easley, whom they should know – whom they should know, better than anyone else! – has at all times conducted herself in a high ethical standard. And you may want to ask them about that.”
Schiller wouldn't say if Easley would accept a buyout, but he urged school officials to “re-reflect” on their call for Easley’s resignation.
Yeah...no.
New NCSU provost Board of Trustees Chair Bob Jordan declined to change his mind in record time:
“One of the reasons NC State is a great university is that it is populated by people who put the institution first. NC State has treated Mrs. Easley with objectivity, dignity and fairness. We understand she feels she has performed her job well. But it's gone well beyond that issue. The ongoing distraction has obscured the university's accomplishments and mission and detracted from our day-to-day work. We respectfully ask that she reconsider her decision for the good of the university.”
UNC Prez Erskine Bowles isn’t ready to lead Easley’s fan club again, either:
“It is absolutely true that I have liked and respected Mary Easley for years. I have said so numerous times—publicly, privately, in writing, and verbally. I also do not question that when she was hired by NC State in 2005, prior to my arrival at UNC, that she was considered to be an asset to the University. Furthermore, when the UNC Board of Governors and I reviewed the salary associated with her expanded duties in 2008, it was unanimously approved after significant adjustments were made. I have said this repeatedly and released publicly the information that supports the salary she was offered.
“But as Mrs. Easley’s attorney said today, we are now at a time that is different from when Mary Easley was hired. And I do feel that it would be in the best interest of NC State for her to move on.”
Meantime, Oblinger’s and Nielsen’s appearances before the federal grand jury were postponed today. NCSU is reportedly still gathering the records requested by the Feds. Proceedings are expected to continue next week.
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