The chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and one of the state’s leading political donors together sought to use campaign contributions to bribe the state’s insurance commissioner, federal prosecutors said in an indictment that was unsealed on Tuesday. And it also showed how, at least in the judgment of prosecutors, a leading political operative and one of his most important benefactors tried to shape government oversight in one of the nation’s largest states. The party chairman, Robin Hayes, faces the gravest set of charges of the four men who were indicted. Mr. Hayes was accused of bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, along with several counts of making false statements. Three other people, including Greg E. Lindberg, the chairman of an investment firm in Durham and a prolific Republican contributor, were also charged.

Source: New York Times April 02, 2019 18:09 UTC