Political meddling threatens the SBI. Here’s what we’re doing about it. | Opinion
Editor’s note: The writers chair the N.C. House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Could you imagine the general counsel for the State Banking Commission feeling conflicted in duties to Truist and the Commissioner? What if the Insurance Commissioner had staff beholden to Allstate and Geico?
Separation of powers is fundamental to the U.S Constitution and the N.C. Constitution. It is one reason why the state has an elected Attorney General, Auditor and state Treasurer. These are key positions that hold the rest of state government accountable.
Among its other duties, the State Bureau of Investigation is responsible for investigating charges of public corruption and election fraud. Its integrity and independence are of utmost importance.
In 2014, the N.C. General Assembly moved the SBI to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to improve its operating efficiency. DPS would provide the SBI with administrative support, but the law made clear the Bureau’s independence. Critics, including then-Attorney General Roy Cooper, warned that moving the Bureau could make it susceptible to pressure from the governor.
Who could have guessed that staff for Cooper, now governor, would be the ones accused of trying to intimidate the SBI director and interfere with the Bureau’s staffing decisions? This is precisely what SBI Director Bob Schurmeier alleged in sworn testimony to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which we chair. If people are policy, as the adage says, such actions could have even broader implications than direct intervention in any specific case.
That is why the House budget that passed with bipartisan support last week completely severs the links between the SBI and DPS. This reasonable step to insure SBI independence removes any possible confusion over the loyalties of the director’s staff and any leverage the governor would have through DPS bureaucratic slow walking.
Schurmeier testified that Gov. Cooper’s Chief of Staff Kristi Jones and General Counsel Eric Fletcher sought his resignation and threatened the SBI with an expensive investigation into his management in a series of three meetings in late 2022. The pretext, he said, was a personnel complaint.
Because of the sensitive nature of the director’s accusations and his concerns about retaliation, we kept the topic of the hearing quiet. Once the hearing began, Democrats and Republicans asked to hear from Jones, Fletcher and SBI General Counsel Angel Gray, whom the director also mentioned by name in his testimony, to provide their version of events.
In her letter to us as committee chairs, Jones admitted that at least one of the three meetings Schurmeier described took place. In that meeting, she “advised the Director” of the perceived need for an expensive investigation paid for by the SBI. This is what the Director, given the context, said was “clear intimidation.” In other words, while acknowledging the substance of the meeting, Jones’ letter ignores the heart of Schurmeier’s allegations. This is why the committee needs to hear from her and others.
We have invited Jones, Fletcher and Gray to testify before our committee Tuesday, April 18, as the next step in bringing transparency and clarity to this situation. We are glad to be able to do this oversight of the executive branch in the public and bipartisan forum.
State Rep. Jake Johnson (Dist. 113) and Rep. Harry Warren (Dist. 76) co-chair the N.C. House Oversight and Reform Committee.
