Two key witnesses will not testify in the N.C. Board of Elections hearing into campaign finances involving House Speaker Jim Black.
Two of Black’s allies — M. Scott Edwards of the N.C. State Optometric Society political action committee and former Rep. Michael Decker — have invoked their rights under the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment not to offer testimony that could incriminate them.
The elections board allowed Edwards to leave the proceedings in Raleigh’s downtown Clarion Hotel. But Decker’s decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights prompted a Republican elections board member to ask for a brief recess for the board to consult with its legal counsel in a closed session.
The board has asked Decker and his attorneys to remain in the hearing room until the board returns to open session.
