11:19 a.m. Conditional adjournment. Leake adjourns board under condition that it will reconvene once the NC Court of Appeals rules on the Ruffin Poole quashed subpoena.?

11:17 a.m. Motion against Easley restated: After that aside, Leake restates the motion urging Wake County DA to investigate criminal violations that may or may not be within statute of limitations. SBOE Cordle: We’re not saying a crime has been committed. Motion carries unanimously.?

11:15 a.m. Campaign treasurer liability:? Leake says board found no evidence suggesting that treasurer Dave Horne had any way of knowing when Mike Easley was flying, how many, or who was on the flights. Horne asked for documentation of a mysterious invoice, leading to call from Easley. Horne to be commended for his efforts. We have to have folks willing to be campaign treasurers. If treasurers are held responsible for everything in the campaign, no one will be a treasurer.

11:11 a.m. Criminal referral against Easley, perhaps others. Recommendation to change laws. Leake says sometimes candidates do not take sufficient responsibility for conduct of campaign. He recommends that General Assembly change law making candidates personally liable for penalties not paid by campaign. Carries unanimously.

Leake also believes criminal violations have occurred on the part of Mike Easley and perhaps others. That this matter will be referred to Wake County District Attorney for review to see if there are prosecutable areas. Moves and gets second.

SBOE member Anita Earls supports motion. Not sure any activity falls within statute of limitations but says that’s for DA to determine.

11:06 a.m. Easley penalties. Leake makes a motion about Easley air travel. Easley campaign should pay $60,000 as a civil fine. And a penalty of $40,000. Motion carries unanimously.

11:03 a.m.? NCDP found in violation of law. Chairman Larry Leake thanks attorneys for their attitudes and efforts. Staff, too. Leake moves to find that representatives of Easley solicited $9,000 in contributions when donors were advised and were of the belief that donors were soliciting for NCDP and would be earmarked for the Easley campaign. This is a violatiaon of the law. Therefore, NCDP should pay $9,000 into civil penalties fund.

Sufficient evidence of other violations of N.C. law not shown by NCDP. Motion carries with no opposition.

11:00 a.m. Here they come: Board entering the room.

10:53 a.m. Just got a tip. It’s about to start.

10:45 a.m. Still waiting … How ’bout them Heels?

10:31 a.m. Grumblings. The natives are getting restless. (Not just me.) More activity in the hallway. Not sure when we’ll start.

10:16 a.m. Deja vu … Lawyers, Falmlen leave room again.

10:08 a.m. Rumblings. Several of the NCDP attorneys (and former Executive Director Scott Falmlen) just left the room. Maybe they’re getting a heads-up …

10 a.m. The chairman’s in the house: Just spotted SBOE Chairman Larry Leake in the hall. Should be under way soon …

9:53 a.m. Patience will be rewarded? Still waiting for the board to reconvene. Reporters and attorneys are in the room. No board members so far.

9:02 a.m. The prelude: The State Board of Elections’ hearing on Gov. Easley’s campaign finances is set to reconvene in a few minutes. The board will go into closed session and make its decisions on potential penalties. We should expect them to return in a public session about 9:45 and announce them. I’m pinch-hitting for David Bass today. Be sure to check back often.