No wrongdoing found in McCrory campaign

A state investigation of the 2008 gubernatorial campaign of Republican Pat McCrory found no evidence of improper coordination with an outside GOP group.

The N.C. State Board of Elections launched the probe in October in response to a 2010 complaint by the state Democratic Party. The complaint alleged that McCrory's campaign coordinated fundraising and spending efforts with the Republican Governors Association, a potential breach of state and federal campaign-finance laws.

A copy of the state report obtained by The Associated Press showed that investigators found no evidence to support the allegation. McCrory has said he plans to run again in 2012, setting up a potential rematch against Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.

"In summary, the investigation of the allegations contained in the complaint did not result in any findings that supported the allegations made by the complaint," says the report signed by Kim Westbrook Strach, the state board's deputy director for campaign reporting.

The elections board is set to meet today to discuss the findings.

A second Democratic complaint against the McCrory campaign dating from 2010 is still under investigation.

McCrory campaign consultant Jack Hawke said he fully expected the probe would find nothing. The complaints were without merit and motivated by partisan politics, he said.

The scrutiny of McCrory's campaign was triggered by two April 2010 complaints filed by Andrew Whalen, then the executive director of the state Democratic Party.

In addition to the allegation of improper coordination with the RGA, Whalen pointed to contributions sent to McCrory's campaign from employees at several corporations. Whalen asked the board to investigate whether those employees had been given the money by someone else. It is illegal to give someone money to then contribute in his or her name.

However, Whalen provided no hard proof of the allegations.

On Wednesday, Whalen questioned why the elections board waited 18 months to investigate his complaints and questioned the thoroughness of the probe.

"I'm not at all surprised by the finding," said Whalen, who now works for a Democratic political action committee. "I don't think a real effort was put into this investigation."

Elections investigators questioned at least 10 people as part of the investigation, including McCrory and Hawke, according to a review of the report.

Hawke said Whalen's complaints appeared motivated by little more than a desire to distract the attention of voters from campaign-finance violations involving Perdue's 2008 bid.

Whalen filed his complaints as an elections board investigation began heating up of 42 unreported flights on private aircraft provided to Perdue during the 2008 election cycle. The flights were provided by donors who had already given the maximum $4,000 individual contribution to the Democrat, who narrowly defeated McCrory, a former Charlotte mayor.

The elections board, which is appointed by Perdue, issued a $30,000 fine against her campaign over the unreported flights. However, members of the board's Democratic majority also stressed that their investigation found no evidence of "intentional wrongdoing" by Perdue or her staff and closed the case without holding hearings.

That finding has come into question this year as Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby has filed felony charges against four Perdue staffers and donors. Willoughby, a Democrat, launched his own criminal investigation of Perdue's campaign finances after the elections board closed its 2010 probe.

Perdue's former campaign finance chairman, Peter Reichard of Greensboro, was sentenced this month to probation and a $25,000 fine after entering a felony plea for hiding at least $32,000 in illegal payments from a Perdue donor that he used to pad a campaign worker's salary. Charges are pending against the three others with ties to Perdue and the criminal investigation of her campaign continues.