Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman reiterated Tuesday that her office wouldn’t investigate whether North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore should face criminal charges over allegations made in a recent civil case related to an affair with a state worker.
State Rep. Terence Everitt, D-Wake Forest, had asked Freeman in a letter Tuesday to probe whether the Republican chamber leader should be charged with embezzlement, bribery or misconduct in public office.
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Scott Lassiter, a former Apex town councilman, sued Moore in June, alleging that an affair between Moore and Lassiter’s wife, Jamie Lassiter, led to the destruction of the Lassiters’ marriage. Scott Lassiter alleged that the speaker committed “an egregious abuse of power” because Jamie Lassiter is a state employee and that she feared that ending the relationship would put her job in jeopardy. He also alleged that Moore traded sex for political favor.
Moore has acknowledged that they had a relationship but denied the other allegations in the lawsuit, which was settled last month.
Freeman, a Democrat, previously told WRAL that her office wasn’t pursuing an investigation into the allegations. “Based on a review of the complaint filed in the civil action, there are not allegations that would give rise to a criminal investigation or prosecution,” Freeman said in an email at the time.
She reiterated that stance on Tuesday: “Based on our review of this matter and the information available at this time, there is no basis to move forward with a criminal investigation.”
Everitt didn’t respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. In his letter to Freeman, he said he was concerned about the allegations and suggested there was basis for them, citing big raises for Jamie Lassiter, the executive director of the North Carolina Conference of Clerks of Superior Court, during the time of the relationship.
Jamie Lassiter’s salary increased 50% during the three year affair, WRAL previously reported. Her supervisors said that the raises were based on her performance and achievement and that Moore had nothing to do with the raises.
“To believe that the speaker of the House, who just so happens to be having an affair with the executive director, would have no influence in this matter is simply unrealistic and disingenuous on its face,” Everitt said in the letter.
He added: “My concern here is the use of public tax money for personal gain. We are, as public officials, entrusted as fiduciaries of the people’s money. And when that money is misused for personal financial gain, or simply for personal sexual gratification, it is our obligation to seek the truth and hold each other accountable.”
A spokeswoman for Moore didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.