— North Carolina's largest political donor and three others, including the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, have been arrested on bribery charges. Greg Lindberg, two of his business associates and state GOP Chairman Robin Hayes were all indicted by a federal grand jury last month, but the indictments were sealed until Tuesday. They turned themselves in to the FBI in Charlotte on Tuesday, had first appearances before a U.S. magistrate judge and all pleaded not guilty. They're all accused of trying to bribe state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who got in touch with federal investigators and recorded conversations quoted in the indictment. The alleged scheme would have traded more than $1 million in political contributions in exchange for regulatory help at the department. Hayes, a former congressman and GOP candidate for governor, is also charged with three counts of lying to the FBI. On Monday he announced that he wouldn't seek another term as chairman of the state Republican Party, citing his health. Brian Benczkowski, the assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's criminal division in Washington, D.C., called the scheme "brazen" in a news release Tuesday. The indictments indicate others, known and unknown , were involved as well. Lindberg's attorney, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Anne Tompkins, said in a statement that he "is innocent of the charges in the indictment, and we look forward to demonstrating this when we get our day in court.” Lindberg owns or is involved in hundreds of companies, including several regulated by the state Department of Insurance. The indictments indicate federal investigators have been poking around since January 2018, when Causey called them. Lindberg allegedly wanted Causey to fire or reassign an unnamed deputy commissioner causing problems for some of the businesses Lindberg owns, and he offered up to $2 million in political donations to get it done. Lindberg, whose Durham and Raleigh mansions recently went up for sale, has given more than $5 million to North Carolina political campaigns over the last few years, including more than $1.49 million to the state Republican Party. The state party turned around and gave $250,000 of that to Causey's campaign, and the indictment alleges this was an effort to get around state political giving rules, which allow unlimited donations to parties but cap individual campaign donations at $5,400. The indictment describes a number of clandestine meetings, at least some of which Causey recorded. The two other men indicted, Lindberg consultant John Gray and John Palermo, a vice president at Lindberg's Eli Global business and the current or former chairman of the Chatham County GOP, coordinated a number of these meetings, the indictment states. Causey declined Tuesday to discuss his role in the investigation. "Those questions would impact the investigation, so I'll leave it to the federal investigators," he told WRAL News. "It is a sad day for North Carolina when you see what a big role money plays in politics today," Causey added. The indictment says that Hayes, in a phone call with Causey, Gray and Lindberg, expressed some concern about a lump-sum transfer because it would raise suspicions. "We'll get with you and, um, understanding that this is all confidential," the indictment quotes Gray as saying. "Yeah, oh, absolutely," Hayes responded, according to the indictment. One day after Causey agreed to switch out regulators at the department as Lindberg had requested, Hayes emailed the state party's treasurer requesting an initial wire transfer to Causey's campaign, the indictment states. Causey signed the party's donations over to the U.S. Marshals Service last year. Lindberg also paid to set up an independent expenditure committee for Causey, the indictment states. Presumably, that's NC Growth and Prosperity, for which Palermo was treasurer. One of the meetings described in the indictments unsealed Tuesday occurred at Concord Regional Airport in February 2018. Before that meeting, Gray allegedly told Causey that he and Lindberg would enter through a different door "so that nobody would see them together." Causey later met with Palermo at a closed restaurant in Chapel Hill, and Palermo suggested the commissioner hire him at the department, the indictment states. Gray allegedly told Causey that, if the deputy commissioner causing Lindberg problems wasn't fired, he should "set it so that ... she doesn't breathe a word outside that office, or send a slip of paper outside that office, that is not reviewed first by John (Palermo)," the indictment states. The indictment also references an unidentified "Public Official A" that Gray and Lindberg discussed via text message, and who called Causey to "explain that Lindberg was doing good things for North Carolina business" two days after Lindberg made a $150,000 contribution on Feb. 5, 2018, to a committee supporting the official. A joint fundraising committee for Republican 6th District Congressman Mark Walker logged a $150,000 Lindberg donation Feb. 17, 2018. Walker spokesman Jack Minor said Tuesday he couldn't confirm that the congressman, who like Causey is from Guilford County, is "Public Official A." He said Walker has cooperated with the Department of Justice in the case, but that he couldn't characterize the nature of that assistance. "He has not been a target of the investigation and he has assisted the DOJ,” Minor said. Lindberg is also Lt. Gov. Dan Forest's largest donor, having given more than $2 million to political committees supporting him. Hal Weatherman, the head of Forest's exploratory committee for the 2020 gubernatorial race, said in an email that Forest was never questioned by the FBI or other investigators, was never subpoenaed and isn't "Public Official A." Forest told reporters as he headed into an state Senate session Tuesday that he is friends with the people indicted, calling them "good guys." He said neither Lindberg nor his associates ever asked him for anything in return for campaign donations. Lindberg gave $1.4 million to the N.C. Republican Council of State Committee, which Forest chairs, and the lieutenant governor said the group would have to meet to decide how to proceed. He said giving up the money is "certainly an option," but he declined to identify other members of the group that would make that decision. The committee was created so Republican members of the Council of State, the GOP's statewide elected officials, could accept unlimited donations, but not all members of the council participate. Another $1 million went to Truth and Prosperity, a PAC run by a Forest supporter, but campaign finance law forbids the lieutenant governor from coordinating with the group on expenditures. Forest distanced himself from the donations Tuesday, noting that Lindberg never gave to his campaign account. But he put out a press release in early 2018, taking credit for all of the donations and lumping the Council of State Committee, Truth and Prosperity and his own campaign committee together for a total fundraising haul of $3 million. Forest didn't mention at the time that most of that money came from Lindberg. As the federal investigation of Lindberg's dealings became public knowledge last year, Forest said repeatedly that the process needed to play out and that he was comfortable keeping the donations. He said Tuesday that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and that the indictments have "absolutely nothing to do with us." "It has nothing to do with dirty money or anything else at this point," Forest said. "It has to do with that situation that they were in at the time. I don't know where this is going to lead to in the end. Like I said, in America, you are innocent until proven guilty." Before Causey beat former Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin in 2016, Lindberg also was one of Goodwin's main donors. The Wall Street Journal published a deep dive earlier this year on Lindberg's business practices, including during the Goodwin era, when the newspaper said Lindberg moved a company to North Carolina to take advantage of state insurance rules and an arrangement with unnamed regulators in the Department of Insurance. Lindberg has since given half a million dollars to the state Democratic Party, which Goodwin chairs, and Goodwin did consulting work for Lindberg after he left office.<doc-sep>The chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and a major donor were indicted Tuesday on federal bribery and wire fraud charges. North Carolina GOP Chairman Robin Hayes and Greg Lindberg, the founder and chairman of Eli Global LLC and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group, were among four people charged in federal indictments unsealed Tuesday. AVENATTI TO APPEAR IN CALIFORNIA COURT TO FACE FRAUD CHARGES Hayes, who served from 1999 to 2009 in Congress, Lindberg and his two associates, also charged, appeared in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler. Hayes, Lindberg and his two associates are accused of trying to sway an insurance regulator’s decisions in favor of the donor’s insurance companies. Federal prosecutors said that the four individuals promised or gave Republican Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey millions of campaign dollars to do things Lindberg wanted, including seeking the removal of a deputy insurance commissioner responsible for oversight of one of Lindberg’s businesses. Hayes also was charged with three counts of making false statements to the FBI. FBI agents interviewed Hayes in August 2018 about his involvement with and knowledge of the alleged misconduct and alleged improper campaign contributions. During that interview, Hayes allegedly lied to FBI agents about directing funds at Lindberg’s request, among other things. “Greg Lindberg is innocent of the charges in the indictment and we look forward to demonstrating this when we get our day in court,” his attorney, Anne Tompkins, told Fox News.​​​​​​ A spokesman for the North Carolina GOP did not immediately comment regarding Hayes' indictment. “The indictment unsealed today outlines a brazen bribery scheme in which Greg Lindberg and his coconspirators allegedly offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in exchange for official action that would benefit Lindberg’s business interests,” Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski said in a statement. “Bribery of public officials at any level of government undermines confidence in our political system. The Criminal Division will use all the tools at our disposal—including the assistance of law-abiding public officials—to relentlessly investigate and prosecute corruption wherever we find it.” US FALLS IN GLOBAL CORRUPTION RANKING REPORT Lindberg has given more than $5 million to North Carolina candidates, party committees and independent expenditure groups. The indictment amounted to the latest political scandal to rock the state. Earlier this year, an operative allegedly at the center of a ballot fraud scandal was indicted for illegal possession of absentee ballots and obstruction of justice. This was after the North Carolina State Board of Election decided to call a new election in the 9th congressional district because of questions surrounding the legitimacy of the victory claimed by Republican Mark Harris, who had hired the later-indicted operative. The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>This one couldn't hold until our semi-regular weekly survey on Thursday: the Republican Party in the newly insane state of North Carolina seems to have been a SuperFund for quite some time. First, there was the vote-bundling ratfcking down in the 9th Congressional District, and now this. From WBTV: NCGOP Chairman Robin Hayes, who spent a decade in Congress representing a district that stretched from the Charlotte area to Fayetteville, surrendered himself to authorities and made a first appearance at the US Courthouse in Charlotte on Tuesday. The charges center around a wealthy Durham businessman named Greg Lindberg, who has been under the microscope of federal investigators for white collar crimes related to his business empire and, later, for contributions he made to politicians in North Carolina. Lindberg was also indicted and made a first appearance in court. Two other people who worked for Lindberg, John Gray and John Palermo, also appeared in court in connection to the indictments. Let's be fair. Both parties drank of the forbidden trough. Lindberg made sizeable contributions to both political parties, campaign finance records show, including a six-figure contribution to the North Carolina Democratic Party and nearly $2 million to the North Carolina Republican Party. But it does seem that it was the GOP that kept showing up and ordering doubles. A portion of Lindberg’s contribution to the NCGOP—$240,000 –was then forwarded to North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who is also a Republican. In October, NCGOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse confirmed to WBTV that the party sent Causey the money but said it was legal because, he said, the party steered the money to Causey after Lindberg made the contribution. In March, WBTV reported that Causey made a secret recording of a meeting between Lindberg, an associate, Causey and Hayes. During the meeting, multiple sources familiar with the recording told WBTV, Lindberg and Hayes reached an agreement for the NCGOP to pass $240,000 of Lindberg’s contribution to Causey’s campaign. The level of corruption in American politics is occasionally stunning. Anyone who doesn't tape every interpersonal encounter is out of their mind. Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here. Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>
A federal grand jury indicted the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and three others on bribery charges Tuesday, law enforcement officials announced. Robin Hayes, the state GOP chair, and Greg Lindberg, a businessman and wealthy donor, are accused, along with two others, of engaging in a scheme to bribe North Carolina state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. Causey has not been charged. ADVERTISEMENT The indictment, unsealed Tuesday, alleges that Lindberg, Hayes and two Lindberg associates, John Gray and John Palermo, sought to use independent expenditure accounts and improper campaign contributions to bribe Causey to make official decisions favorable to Lindberg’s business. According to the indictment, the four defendants offered Causey millions of dollars in campaign contributions, among other things, in exchange for the removal of his senior deputy commissioner. Causey reported concerns about the political contributions to federal authorities and agreed to cooperate with an investigation into the matter, officials said. “Bribery of public officials at any level of government undermines confidence in our political system,” Brian Benczkowski, the assistant U.S. attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement. “The Criminal Division will use all the tools at our disposal – including the assistance of law-abiding public officials – to relentlessly investigate and prosecute corruption wherever we find it.” Hayes also allegedly lied to FBI agents about his involvement in the scheme, particularly about directing Lindberg’s contributions to the state GOP into Causey’s reelection campaign, according to law enforcement officials. An attorney for Lindberg said he was not guilty of any wrongdoing. “Greg Lindberg is innocent of the charges in the indictment and we look forward to demonstrating this when we get our day in court," Lindberg's attorney, Anne Tompkins, said. Hayes has surrendered himself to authorities and made an initial appearance at a U.S. courthouse in Charlotte on Tuesday, WBTV reported. News of the indictment came a day after Hayes, a former U.S. congressman, announced that he would not seek reelection as chair of the North Carolina Republican Party at its convention this summer. North Carolina Republican Party Counsel Josh Howard said in a statement that the party has been cooperating with the investigation for several months. "The Party, which has its day to day operations managed by professional staff under the direction of the NCGOP Central Committee, remains fully operational and focused on its mission at hand," Howard said. The indictment is the latest controversy to rock North Carolina Republicans. Earlier this year, state election officials ordered a new election in the state's 9th Congressional District after a lengthy investigation into an alleged ballot-tampering scheme. That scheme was allegedly led by a contractor for Mark Harris Mark HarrisThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - GOP makes infrastructure play; Senate passes Asian hate crimes bill Hillicon Valley: Intelligence agency gathers US smartphone location data without warrants, memo says | Democrats seek answers on impact of Russian hack on DOJ, courts | Airbnb offers Biden administration help with vaccine distribution Trump sparks debate over merits of voting by mail MORE, the Republican candidate in the race. Harris has since bowed out of the new election. He has repeatedly denied personal wrongdoing. Updated at 4:19 p.m.