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Tuesday: "We're moving ahead"
posted at 2007-12-11 23:25 | Last modified 2007-12-12 13:44
House Speaker Joe Hackney held a hastily called press conference today to tell us that the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee is moving ahead with its own ethics probe into the political dealings of New Hanover Dem Thomas Wright.
Clearly stung by media criticism for his lack of action on the Wright case, Hackney explained why the Ethics Committee hasn’t done much since May -- he says Wake Co. DA Colon Willoughby asked lawmakers to put their investigation on hold until the state completed its own probe. Now that that’s finished, Hackney says lawmakers are free to move forward with their investigation, and he pledges they’ll do so as quickly as possible within the restraints of due process and witness availability.
You can hear Hackney’s comments in their entirety here. Note: It's a big file, but if you want to parse it, it's worth it.
How it would work
First, the Joint Ethics Committee has to wrap up its investigation and issue any findings or recommendations. We don’t know that they’ll issue anything, but Hackney sounded today as if he expected some sort of decision, and given the allegations, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet they’ll recommend at least censure.
Assuming there’s a finding from the panel, the next step is a public hearing with many of the same witnesses and much of the same evidence the state’s using for its case. Hackney says the House won’t wait on the courts, so it’s likely this would take place before the state’s criminal case. It could be a great preview of the trial to come.
If the hearing generates a recommendation, which seems plausible, the next step would be a special session in which the House would decide whether to take action against Wright. “Action” could be anything from censure to expulsion. If it’s the latter, it would be the first time the General Assembly’s voted to expel one of its own since they kicked out Josiah Turner back in 1880. The AP's Gary Robertson has more on that.
Reax:
Indefatigable Dem gadfly Joe Sinsheimer was at the presser. He (sort of) complimented Hackney for his announcement, but he offset that with dire predictions of more Dem indictments to come. You can hear his comments here.
Guilford Rep John Blust sent out this response tonight, openly challenging Hackney to allow debate on more robust reforms (like leadership term limits) next session. You can read his full response here.
As for Wright…
…well, he’s still incommunicado, which has been his standard operating procedure for the past six months – but now he’s even turned off his answering machine. So no comment. You’re shocked, I can tell.
Otherwise,
I was fortunate enough to get a one-on-one year-end interview with Governor Mike Easley on Monday. These things usually happen in groups, and this year, we were scheduled for Wednesday. But since I had to be out of town that day, the press office was kind enough to find another time that worked.
Unfortunately, the Wright news hadn’t yet broken when we talked, so I didn’t get to talk to him about that. But he still had plenty to say about lots of other things, including passive-aggressive knitting. (No, really. He went there.)
You can hear the short version of our conversation on Morning Edition, and the longer (30-40 min) cut on the State of Things Wed at noon/9pm. I'll add links to both when I get them.
Tomorrow night, I’ll post the whole hour-long interview here, warts and all, at which point you can tell me I ought to stick to reporting.
Comments? Drop me a line.
