#ncga: And then there were TWO! (Perhaps a THIRD?)


We already told you about John Blust getting a visit from the FeeBs.  Now it appears another Republican legislator also had an unexpected encounter:

FBI agents reached out to at least two members of the N.C. House of Representatives in recent months, asking questions about an anonymous letter that accused Speaker of the House Tim Moore  of chicanery. Recently retired state Rep. John Blust said a pair of agents visited his office.

State Rep.Jason Saine said he got a phone call. Neither man could say exactly what the agents wanted, but they didn’t have any proof of wrongdoing to share.

“I hadn’t read the letter, seen the letter,” Saine said. “Kind of a short conversation.”

That letter is dated May 21, 2018, and it begins, “I am currently a sitting member of the North Carolina House of Representatives.”

It’s been floating around for months, and it makes a number of accusations. It was addressed to Josh Lawson, attorney for the State Board of Elections, and copied to three news organizations, including WRAL News.

It concluded by saying that “if you figure out who I am … I will talk with you or the press, ON THE RECORD.”

Based on the timeline that the letter described, and the committee memberships claimed, WRAL News determined earlier this year that it could only describe three members of the House: Blust, Saine and state Rep. Linda Johnson. All three told WRAL News months ago they had not written the letter and knew nothing about it.

“It certainly wasn’t me,” Blust reiterated Friday, adding that he’s never heard the speaker make any of the statements the letter describes.

Blust, R-Guilford, said two agents spoke to him for less than an hour. Saine, R-Lincoln, said the phone call seemed to him “almost like checking a box” for the agents.[…]