'Clear intimidation': NC SBI director says governor's office tried to oust him

State Bureau of Investigation Director Bob Schurmeier said Tuesday that key members of Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration pressed him to resign last fall, holding over his head the prospect of an embarrassing investigation into a discrimination claim against him.

Schurmeier also said the Cooper administration meddled in hiring decisions, and he called on the General Assembly to make the bureau’s independence more explicit in state law.

“We need to preserve the independence and integrity of the SBI,” Schurmeier told lawmakers in sworn testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

Cooper’s administration wasn’t invited to speak at the meeting, though the committee’s Republican chairman said the governor’s office would be invited to tell its side of the story at a later date. In a statement to WRAL News, Cooper spokesman Jordan Monaghan said it's "critical for the SBI to have the highest integrity and practices of fairness.

"Our office has expressed concerns to Director Schurmeier about his leadership and the culture and practices at the SBI, including complaints that he alluded to at the General Assembly today and the need for an outside review," Monaghan said in an email. "Under statute, the SBI has independence to manage its workforce and it’s clear that oversight is important.

State law says the bureau “shall be an independent agency” with its director “solely responsible for all management functions.” State law also says the director “shall be responsible for making all hiring and personnel decisions of the bureau.”

Schurmeier said that, in practice, those lines are blurrier.

The SBI has eight political appointees, and Schurmeier said he had to negotiate any of those hires with the governor’s office. On other hiring decisions, Schurmeier said Cooper’s Department of Public Safety sometimes slow-walked hiring paperwork.

Schurmeier said he shook up the department after his appointment in 2016, including demoting some members of the bureau’s executive staff. At some point he was accused of discrimination, but the details of that allegation aren’t clear. Schurmeier and his personal attorney, who attended Tuesday’s committee hearing, declined to discuss the accusation, calling it a confidential personnel matter.

Schurmeier kicked off efforts to diversify the bureau, though, telling the committee he promoted 48 white females, 15 black males, 21 black females, one Asian male, two Hispanic males, five Hispanic females and drafted his own diversity and inclusion plan.

Schurmeier said Cooper’s chief of staff, Kristi Jones, and general counsel, Eric Fletcher, used the discrimination accusation as leverage during October and November meetings. Jones and Fletcher did not immediately respond Tuesday to an email seeking comment.

“The general counsel told me at one point that, if you don’t resign, there will be a big investigation by a large law firm,” Schurmeier said.

Schurmeier said he declined to resign. "To date we have not been contacted about any big investigation,” he said.

“I think it was clear intimidation,” he told the committee. He also said he approached Speaker of the House Tim Moore's office about the situation, which led to Tuesday's hearing.

Schurmeier also complained about his general counsel at the SBI, Angel Gray, who previously worked under Cooper at the Department of Justice. Schurmeier said he felt Gray’s loyalties were divided.

"We actually talked about that, whether she had my back or not,” Schurmeier said. “And I just didn't think she did.”

Gray did not respond Tuesday afternoon to an email seeking comment.

Tuesday’s oversight committee meeting was unusual because its subject wasn’t announced ahead of time. Even rank-and-file lawmakers were in the dark, with leadership keeping “a tight lid on” the subject due to the testimony’s sensitive nature, according to Committee Chairman Jake Johnson, R-Henderson.