Amid the Storm, NCGOP Chairman Harnett Conducting the Party’s Business

Despite the ongoing controversy, NCGOP Chairman Hasan Harnett continues to work for ALL the Republicans of North Carolina.  On Monday he traveled to Raleigh to do just that.

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At the Legislative Office Building

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Visiting the nice young ladies at the information desk.

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Sharing a smile with Linda P. Johnson (R), District 83, Cabarrus

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Discussing politics with Lee Teague, Executive Director of NC Public Charter Schools Association

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And, as much as we might wish it wasn’t so, the current controversy undeniably remains an item of Party business.  Chairman Harnett visited WRAL for an interview with Laura Leslie, Capitol Bureau Chief.

 

Haymaker: #SSDD: NCGOP mutineers STILL beating that dead horse

From The Daily Haymaker:
Remember that crowd at NCGOP HQ belly-aching about chairman Hasan Harnett taking party business public?  Well, that same crew that has been beating on Harnett about THAT has issued yet another press release.   The drivebys this morning are painting it as “new” allegations.  But, after perusing it, it appears to me to be simply the SoS.  Judge for yourself: 

[…] The North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP) today released new details on a planned website attack that would have resulted in NCGOP party funds being diverted into non-Party accounts controlled by Chairman Harnett. These results include sworn testimony implicating the elected volunteer Chairman of the State Republican Party.

The Party commended and thanked the eastern North Carolina computer professional who blew the whistle on apparent unethical and potentially illegal behavior by NCGOP Chairman Hasan Harnett.

According to sworn statements, multiple interviews, text messages and phone records obtained by the NCGOP, Mr. Harnett took initial steps to damage and crash the NCGOP’s 2016 State Convention website and replace it with a new website.

Additionally, the sworn testimony indicated the new website would have altered convention prices set by the Central Committee to prices the Chairman wanted. The most concerning revelation from the sworn testimony showed the new website would have collected funds outside of the Party’s controls. The scheme, if fully implemented, would violate a wide range of state, federal and elections laws. […]

Okay, we’ve BEEN getting this from you.  Is there any evidence or substantiation yet — from something more credible than Dallas Woodhouse-engineered leaks?  I have people bringing me stuff all the time alleging criminal misconduct against THIS or THAT person.  I always tell people — if you HAVE evidence of a crime, take it to law enforcement.  MORE: 

Dr. Ken Robol of Greenville, North Carolina contacted a fellow Republican asking for assistance in making contact with the NCGOP, after Robol’s offer to help access the administrative functions of NCGOP websites turned into a request for illegal conduct by Mr. Harnett. Sworn testimony from Dr. Robol indicates Mr. Harnett asked and encouraged Robol to sabotage the party’s 2016 convention website and replace it with a new website with an alternative and unapproved fundraising system.

To be clear, our evidence indicates Dr. Robol was the first to make contact with Mr. Harnett. He did make an offer to help access the administrative functions of the website because he believed the Party and the Chairman had a technical problem that needed to be resolved.

Our evidence indicates it was Mr. Harnett that turned the conversation from “accessing” the website to using “brute force” to crash it. The evidence also indicates Harnett asked Dr. Robol to create a separate website with alternative fundraising mechanisms.[…]

Really?  Well, how does THAT mesh with this screenshot from a discussion between Harnett and Robol?
rob

“Mr. Chairman …. I can help you to hack your website to get into the site.”  Hmmm.  The mutineers are admitting that Robol made the first contact with Harnett.  If THAT is true, and the screenshot is accurate, you may have a case of a party activist (Robol) initiating a conspiracy to commit criminal activity.   MORE: 

We also know from phone and text records that the Chairman aggressively continued to contact Dr. Robol, which is believed to be in an effort to advance these problematic actions. There is no evidence in the messages that Mr. Harnett thought better of the scheme and tried to call it off.

It should be noted, that if Mr. Harnett believed Dr. Robol was up to something he should not have been, he had a duty to warn Party staff and officers, something he did not do.

The investigation also revealed that Mr. Harnett’s official Party e-mail address, hasan.harnett@ncgop.org, had been used to create an alternative “EVENTBRITE” account/page. EVENTBRITE is the system the Party uses to sell tickets to its convention and other events. The steps taken to set up the new EVENTBRITE account were made several weeks before the convention price issue arose. This is one of the reasons the Central Committee ordered the closure of this email account.

“Dr. Robol contacted other members of the Party because he was made extremely uncomfortable by the Chairman’s request. He was aware that if he did nothing, others might be contacted who did not share his scruples. Dr. Robol was very courageous in coming forward,” said Thomas A. Stark, General Counsel of the North Carolina Republican Party

STILL looking for a crime on Harnett’s part.  Setting up an Eventbrite account is NOT a crime.  (At least it wasn’t the last time I checked.)

[…] On March 8, 2016, Dr. Robol reached out to Chairman Harnett about accessing the administrative functions of the Party website. Dr. Robol read conversations on social media claiming Chairman Harnett had been wrongfully locked out of the Party’s website. At the time, Dr. Robol believed he would be helping the Party by restoring the control of its website to the authorized person. In Facebook messages, Dr. Robol used the term “hack” to describe accessing the administrative functions of the website. Testimony from Dr. Robol makes clear he used the term “hack” to refer to regaining access to the administrative functions of the website.

Sections 9-14 of Dr. Kenneth Robol’s Affidavit:

9. Mr. Harnett requested that I look at the security of the website; I informed him that I had done so. I advised him that the website was set up on Go-Daddy.com. I told him there were three ways to get in.
10. The first was through the password, which we did not have access to.
11. The second, was through the File Manager. My SQL open source database. I told Mr. Harnett that if he could get the Accounting Manager on the phone to designate me as authorized to deal with the website, I could get in and restore access. Mr. Harnett then told me that “Accounting is against me.” I then suggested we call the Executive Director. Mr. Harnett also said no because the Executive Director was also against him.
12. The third method possible that I told him about was a brute force attack. I told Mr. Harnett that, while I had never done one personally, this could crash or damage the website. It would destabilize the site and likely crash it.

Sooooooo.  Robol introduced the concept of a “brute force” attack on the site.  Again, this is looking like the wrong person is being investigated for possible criminal activity. MORE: 

[…]
13. Mr. Harnett then told me that he preferred to do a brute force attack. He then turned the conversation to his campaign promise that he would lower the $90.00 fee and asked me to help him set up an alternative website.The purpose of this website would be to sell tickets to the North Carolina State Party Convention directly from that website for $45.00, raise the money from the sale of these tickets, and then go back to the Party.
14. At this point I told him to let me know what he wanted me to do, and the conversation concluded.

“Despite insinuations otherwise, Dr. Robol called Chairman Harnett entirely on his own accord. He was responding in good faith to statements made by Chairman Harnett and his supporters,” said Mr. Stark. “It was entirely Chairman Harnett’s own initiative to ask Dr. Robol to crash the Party website and set up a competing website to divert funds away from the Party. Further, it was entirely Chairman Harnett’s own initiative to place follow up phone calls and text messages to Dr. Robol, including while the sworn statement was being obtained.”

Dr. Robol’s sworn statement concluded:

“I am concerned that if I do not assist Mr. Harnett in breaching the North Carolina Republican Party website, and setting up an alternative website, he will find another IT professional to do so.”

STILL not seeing a crime on Harnett’s part.  So Hasan was going to use this alternate web site to raise money to give back to the party?   WHERE. IS.THE.CRIME?

Stark’s participation in group texts with anti-Harnett plotters, and Robol’s close personal relationship with the woman who introduced the censure resolution against Harnett, AND the serious discrepancies between the documented evidence and the claims of the plotters, make this whole thing highly suspect.

How much does a signed affadavit mean outside of a formal judicial proceeding or law enforcement probe?  What is the penalty for lying? People lie under oath all the time. (I’ve encountered more than my fair share of those types.)  There’s no judge here to throw anyone in jail for perjury.

Again, if you have evidence of a crime — take it to law enforcement. Right  now, these people are setting the state party up for further embarrassment and a big-time slander suit from Harnett against the party and plotters.

#SSDD: NCGOP mutineers STILL beating that dead horse

Chairman’s Response to yet another public press release by the NCGOP General Counsel and Central Committee

Chairman’s Response to yet another public press release by the NCGOP General Counsel and Central Committee

Today’s Date: 4/6/16

Hasan-Harnett

Dear Executive Committee Members,

The NCGOP Central Committee is charged with the mission of creating an effective Republican organization in every political Precinct in North Carolina. With this in mind, there is much work to do in order to get our precincts, counties, and districts ready for a battle royal against the Democrats in November. Unfortunately, witch hunts won’t help us achieve our organizational mission and neither will wild goose chases rehashed by members of the NCGOP Central Committee and staff. The overall effect; however, will effectively drag down the NCGOP, Republican candidates and judges running for office. I know that there are many who want to move forward and many who stand in this with me for the sake of the NC Republican Party.

To my surprise again, the press, media, and many of you have received yet another public press release from Tom Stark, NCGOP General Counsel, and the NCGOP Central Committee; they continue their desire to publically tarnish the NCGOP, my name, and reputation in an effort to remove me as the NCGOP Chair, for the sake of what? I have tried for the past few weeks to resolve this privately to no avail.

For the last time, let’s set the record straight.

Alleged Hacking: After I called the convention on March 7, 2016, Dallas Woodhouse the NCGOP Executive Director, without any authority to do so, kicked me, the NCGOP Chairman, out of the databases, website, and my own email. I tried for many days to resolve these disputes internally, but Woodhouse refused. Dallas Woodhouse sent me an email on March 8, 2016, stating that the NCGOP Vice Chairwoman and my email were disabled because of a security threat to our website. After being shut out of the databases, website, and my own email, NCGOP Vice Chairwoman Michele Nix and I were contacted by Ken Robol, the website coordinator for the 3rd District NC Republican Party, telling us that he can “hack” into the website. As shown in the attached PowerPoint, neither Michele Nix nor I solicited the hacking of the NC Republican Party website and never ordered anyone to hack into the website. The allegations that I ordered Ken Robol to hack into the website are completely false and untrue.

After text message conversations (see screenshots) with Ken Robol, Robol immediately went to Tom Stark, NCGOP General Counsel, to make a statement saying I ordered him to hack the NCGOP website. Ironically, the organizer of the NCGOP Central Committee meeting to censure me was Kim Cotten West, the NCGOP 3rd District Chairwoman, the same district where Ken Robol resides. I would call into question the statement from a person who “hacks” websites as a credible source for the truth. As you know, I released screenshots of the messages between me and Ken Robol eleven days ago (see attachment) as I have nothing to hide and did nothing wrong.

Tom Stark falsely stated that I used the term “entrapment,” I did not. Furthermore, making the claim that using the word “entrapment” somehow states an admission of guilt is absurd, especially coming from a legal professional.

(and the only evidence of a “hacking attempt” is one person’s “sworn statement”, supported by no other evidence. – Editor)

Alleged Funneling: Tom Stark also falsely implies that my setup of an EVENTBRITE account means I was trying to funnel money away from the party. Nothing could be further from the truth. After requests had been made to the staff to create an EVENTBRITE page for a fundraising event, a sample EVENTBRITE account was set up. The sample site was not set up to collect and there were no intentions to collect money through this sample account. Its purpose was to demonstrate the idea of what was needed for the upcoming fundraising event. Days later an NCGOP staff member finally created an official EVENTBRITE page, which was necessary for ticket purchase for the fundraising event held on March 20th (raising over $21,000 for the party). The NCGOP State Convention Eventbrite page was set up by the NCGOP staff and money was never directed away from the NCGOP.

I have been more than willing to converse and talk about how we move forward, however, the conversations, as you see in these messages from Tom Stark, NCGOP General Counsel and members of the NCGOP Central Committee, are all one sided. Let us remember the examples of illegal and unethical behavior displayed by Dallas Woodhouse, NCGOP Executive Director, as he forged my name to a fundraising letter and violated the Plan of Organization in said letter by effectively endorsing a primary candidate. He also sent a call to convention, which he has no authority to do according to the Plan of Organization. There is a history of questionable choices in his past, which speak to the integrity of his character. However, we are talking about me, in a situation where our NCGOP General Counsel and NCGOP Executive Director went to the press first. The NCGOP Central Committee through the help of the NCGOP staff went public nationally with the attempt to censure the NCGOP Chairman through a “no vote of confidence resolution”.

It is extremely unprofessional and unethical for our NCGOP General Counsel to continue communicating accusations like this about a leader in our party. His statements are inflammatory and baseless while being laser focused on this attempt to take me down as the NCGOP Chairman; he fails in his duty to represent the interest of the party as a whole. His outspoken behavior is a disservice to our party, used to try and persuade members to take sides.

I pray that our Party can get past this madness, none of us are perfect. Yet, even with these untrue allegations against me, attacking my character, and good name, I still believe we are all on the same team. We must come together and stop the NCGOP witch hunts so we can go win against the Democrats in November. Many agree that there is so much at stake for this year. If the NCGOP Central Committee is not steadfast on its mission of creating an effective Republican organization in every political Precinct in North Carolina then what are we really doing? Anything outside of the organizational mission is a distraction. Distractions, like NCGOP witch hunts and wild goose chases rehashed, will cost us the Presidency, Governorship, our majorities in the legislature, and will put our entire delegate at the RNC in jeopardy.

Please contact Tom Stark, NCGOP General Counsel, and the NCGOP Central Committee members to demand that these public attacks stop (see below for a list).

Hasan Harnett

Position First Last E-mail
NCGOP Chairman Hasan Harnett hasanharnettncgopchair@gmail.com
NCGOP Finance Chairman John Palermo jvpalermojr@gmail.com
NCGOP Secretary Kim Cotten-West kimcottenwest@gmail.com
NCGOP Legal Counsel Thomas Stark thomas@starklawgroup.com
NCGOP Treasurer David Cozart dcozart1@nc.rr.com
NCGOP Vice Chairman Michele Nix michele.nix@ncgop.org
Committeeman David Lewis davidl@davidlewis.org
Committeewomen Ada Fisher fisheram@msn.com
1st District Chairman Garry Terry garryterry@outlook.com
1st District Vice Chairman Linda Harper tl862@reagan.com
2nd District Chairman Joyce Cotten joyce@joycecotten.com
2nd District Vice Chairman Charles Staley cstaley@ltdkate.com
3rd District Chairman Kim Cotten-West kimcottenwest@gmail.com
3rd District Vice Chairman Ceil Wasserman nbncgoplady@gmail.com
4th District Chairman Matthew Arnold mca@matthewarnold.net
4th District Vice Chairman Dan Phillips fastandsly@aol.com
5th District Chairman Dan Barrett Dan@barrettfirm.com
5th District Vice Chairman Celeste Stanley ccstanley1@aol.com
6th District Chairman Don Webb sails@northstate.net
6th District Vice Chairman Steve Herr seherr10@embarqmail.com
7th District Chairman Helen Pannullo bcgopgirl@yahoo.com
7th District Vice Chairman Daniel Ruggles mrdanielruggles@yahoo.com
8th District Chairman Morgan Kelsey 1973kelsey@gmail.com
8th District Vice Chairman Zachary Almond za.almond@wingate.edu
9th District Chairman John Steward NCGOP9@aol.com
9th District Vice Chairman Linda Angele langele@bellsouth.net
10th District Chairman Ted Alexander ted@tedforsenate.com
10th District Vice Chair Jordan Barnes barnesjordant@gmail.com
11th District Chairman David Sawyer dasawyer13@msn.com
11th District Vice Chair Leo Phillips Wnc_lawfirm@hotmail.com
12th District Chairman Daniel Rufty daniel.rufty@gmail.com
12th District Vice Chair Dawn Walton dawnwalton@live.com
13th District Chairman Zan Bunn zanbunn@aol.com
13th District Vice Chair John Harvilla jharvilla@nc.rr.com
Assistant Finance Chairman Ann Sullivan ncdbann@aim.com
Assistant Legal Counsel John Lewis ncgop8th@gmail.com
Assistant Secretary Scott Cumbie scott@scottcumbie.com
Assistant Treasurer Zak Crotts zcrotts@gmail.com
House Leader Tim Moore timmoorenc@aol.com
Immediate Past Chairman Claude Pope, Jr. claudepope@yahoo.com
Joint Leader Pat Hurley pbhurley2006@yahoo.com
NC DCCA Chairman Lee Green Lee.Green@ncgopdcca.org
NC DCCA Vice Chairman Bob Pruett bobpruett@coastalnet.com
NC TARS Advisor Justin Burr jpb@justinburr.com
NC TARS Chairman Drew West its.drew.west@gmail.com
NCFCR Chair Zachary Almond zachalmond@yahoo.com
NCFCR Vice Chair Hayden Duncan haddun21@gmail.com
NCFRW Chairman Zan Bunn zanbunn@aol.com
NCFRW Vice Chairman Cornelia Groce colgroce@earthlink.net
NCFYR Chairman Matthew Hebb matthew.hebb@ncfypr.com
NCFYR Vice Chairman Clark Riemer clark.riemer@gmail.com
Past Chairman Ferrell Blount fblount@blountpetroleum.com
Past Chairman Bill Cobey, Jr. billcobey@aol.com
Past Chairman Linda Daves LCDaves@aol.com
Past Chairman Tom Fetzer thfetzer@gmail.com
Past Chairman David T. Flaherty, Jr.
Past Chairman James C. Gardner
Past Chairman James Hastings KarenHastings@bellsouth.net
Past Chairman Robin Hayes rchayes6@gmail.com
Past Chairman Jane B. Rouse jrouse@realtyworldfirstcoast.com
RNHA – NC Chairman Marlynn Burns mburns@carolina.rr.com
RNHA – NC Vice Chairman Carlos Vidales cevidales@yahoo.com
NC Senate President Pro Tempore Phil E. At Large  Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

NCGOP outpaces NCDP in 2016 Q1 fundraising

Has the Chairman failed at fundraising?  See what The Daily Haymaker has to say:

There is a lot of talk about fundraising at the state Republican Party these days.  According to documents on file with the state board of elections, the Republican Party outraised — however slightly — the state Democrat Party for the first quarter of 2016.

Records show the state GOP pulling in receipts of $133,695.80 for the first quarter of 2016. Some experienced politics watchers may poo-poo that figure.  

But you need to remember — the rise of super PACS AND the debut of affiliated committees this cycle are taking a lot of money out of party coffers that would have been there in previous years.

Even so, the Democrats are not faring any better.  They are reporting receipts of $129,723.58 for the first quarter of 2016.

NCGOP outpaces NCDP in 2016 Q1 fundraising

Tea Party groups targeting Ma Cotten

From The Daily Haymaker:

Leaders of two of the largest, most active Tea Party organizations havetea issued releases announcing their intention to protest at the NCGOP 2nd congressional district meeting in Sanford on Saturday, April 9.  Moore Tea Citizens and the Asheville Tea Party issued the following statement:

[…] It has been very obvious from the moment of Mr. Harnett’s election at the 2015 State Convention, that the Central Committee has been highly displeased that their establishment insider candidate, endorsed by Governor McCrory, Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, was not the choice of the GOP base.

Conversely, The GOP party members who elected Mr. Harnett are not at all pleased with the NCGOP Central Committee for their non-transparent, secretive tactics thwarting Chairman Harnett attempts to be successful. These tactics include: denying him access to NCGOP headquarters, his email account, and false accusations of hacking the website.

The grassroots support for Chairman Harnett is based in his Conservative credentials and relationship with his GOP constituents. The grassroots contend that neither has been embraced by the party establishment elites.hh3

The NCGOP war on the grassroots has also gained much media attention in both state and national news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal. This ‘rift’ has even caught the attention of talk show host Rush Limbaugh. If this is not resolved, it has the potential of damaging the outcome of our general elections in November.

 

[…]Liberty loving citizens who refuse to sit down, and shut up, please join us to support NCGOP Chairman Hasan Harnett. Chairman Harnett is a fine man and Patriot. He does not deserve this treatment from NCGOP party elites whose only interest is to protect their power, not represent WE THE PEOPLE.

Come and join the many so together we make a difference.

*GOP District Convention 2 check-in starts at noon and the Convention begins at 2 pm. If you belong to District 2 and are attending the Convention: The cost for attending the Convention is $20 for those who pre-register and $25 for anyone who registers on the day of the Convention. In order to pre-register, go to http://ncgop2.com. Click on the “Register here” box appearing on the left side of the screen. At the next screen click on the green “get tickets” box. Pre-registration ends on April 4th.[…]

The 2nd congressional district is chaired by Joyce “Ma” Cotten, who —with the aid of her daughter Kim Cotten-West, chairman of the 3rd congressional district GOP — has led the attack on NCGOP chairman Hasan Harnett.

Sources tell us that, in addition to activists from the Asheville area and Moore County,  we can expect to see participants in the protest from the Triad, The Triangle, and coastal region of North Carolina.

Tea Party groups targeting Ma Cotten

Chairman Cancels April 9 ExCom Meeting

The following is an email from the Chairman.  For the purpose of spam prevention, email addresses have been redacted.

From: Hasan Harnett
Date: April 4, 2016 at 7:09:19 AM EDT
Subject: New Update(s): April 9th Executive Committee Meeting Canceled

Dear Executive Committee member,

Overview
  • The Executive Committee meeting on April 9th is canceled
  • Do not sign the petition for the April 30th Executive Committee meeting

I understand the concerns about having a conflict with district conventions, but my main premise for pushing forward was to put the divisive infighting behind us so we can move forward in beating Democrats in the fall. Consequently, I am canceling the Executive Committee meeting on April 9th and am asking that you not sign the petitions to call for a special meeting on April 30th.

Likewise, I am a volunteer Chairman and must work for a living to provide for my family. The NCGOP staff was already notified on January 27th of my schedule. I am traveling out of the country on business starting April 23rd thru May 1st (see the date and time stamp below). The only Saturdays in April I am available are 4/2, 4/9, and 4/16 of which all of these dates have district conventions. Due to scheduling constraints, we should not have our next Executive Committee meeting until after the State Convention.

It is also apparent that the Central Committee is attempting to schedule an April 30th Executive Committee meeting. The sole premise of the Central Committee’s petition for the April 30th meeting is to remove your State Chairman during an election year. Who likes junk mail? The statements in the letter you received are nothing more than bald faced lies. Furthermore, the claims in that letter have no factual basis whatsoever and is why most of you have placed these petition letters in either your recycle bin or underneath your junk mail. If you already signed it, please email me requesting your signature be removed from the petition, and I will make sure it is eliminated. For anyone still contemplating, I urge you not to sign the petition for the April 30th Executive Committee meeting.

Instead, let us focus our energies on the ongoing District Conventions and upcoming State Convention. We are moving on because there really is no time to waste. We have an exciting year ahead of us and today is a new day. While there are a number of issues to address, I believe we can find the appropriate solutions together.

All of your feedback is greatly appreciated. Feel free to call, email or text me should you have additional thoughts.

Respectfully,
Hasan
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Hasan Harnett
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2016, at 9:22 AM
Subject: Chairman – Upcoming Calendar Events
To: Scheduling
Upcoming Calendar Events
·  2/20* Johnston County Reagan Dinner (Lt. Gov),  Johnston County Agriculture Center, 2736 NC 210 Hwy., Smithfield, NC at 5:30 pm
·  2/25* Durham GOP Lincoln-Douglass Event
·  3/4* 2nd Annual TARS Fundraiser, Embassy Suites Hotel, 460 N. Cherry St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101 7-9:30 pm

·  4/23 – 5/1 I’m traveling out of the country (Confirmed)

*I have not confirmed anything with the venue(s) – please advise

Chairman Harnett Gets Standing Ovation at District 3 Convention

This video is a little rough, and the audio is less than wonderful, but the message is LOUD AND CLEAR!

It’s been a pretty quiet weekend here at NC4Hasan.  A lot of folks were off at District Conventions like the one Chairman Harnett spoke at in the video above.

Check back soon for a new releases.  I am not at liberty to disclose them at this point, but new things are coming.  Perhaps on Sunday, and certainly on Monday.

 

NCGOP ExCom Member Jim Womack Continues Support for Chairman Harnett

Jim_WomackWe have quoted NCGOP Executive Committee member and former Lee County Commissioner Jim Womack before in this article.  We’re glad to hear that he’s still with us.

I wanted you all to know I am TOTALLY opposed to signing any such petitions and that I still completely support our Chairman.  If any of you have any reservations about Hasan, please let me know.  I’d like the opportunity to explain why I think it is imperative we give him the most vigorous assistance we can muster.  No one, including Hasan Harnett himself, is claiming that Hasan hasn’t made some errors of omission and commission- we all do from time to time.  But, it is patently clear from Cumbie’s letter that the Central Committee has been colluding and plotting to disenfranchise and get rid of Hasan for many weeks.   

If anyone needs to be let go, then it should be the Central Committee members who are overstepping their authority as laid out in the Plan of Organization, without first getting a nod of approval from the Executive Committee that put them where they are.  We elected Hasan Harnett as Chairman and now the Central Committee is plotting and conspiring to oust him.  I take that as a direct affront and insult to the Executive Committee and all active Republicans, statewide.     
 
Until someone produces hard evidence Hasan has broken the laws of the state of North Carolina, or until he is indicted for breaking the law, we shouldtreat him with the dignity and support he so desperately needs in doing his job for all of us.  I will continue to ask for the resignation from the Central Committee for anyone who colluded, conspired, or secretly coordinated to suspend Hasan’s email accounts, to prevent Hasan from having access to state GOP files and data, or to remove Hasan from his elected office.
Warm Regards
Jim Womack

James K. (Jim) Womack is a 1977 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering.

Jim also holds a Master of Science Degree from American Technological University and a Master of Military Arts & Science Degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

Jim has served North Carolina state government as Director for North Carolina’s Public Health Information Systems in the state’s Department of Health & Human Services, as a member of the North Carolina Mining & Energy Commission and currently serves as member of the North Carolina Oil and Gas Commission.

Jim has served his local community as a member of the Lee County Commission from 2010 to 2104 and continues to serve as Vice Chairman of the Lee County Republican Party and a member of the NCGOP Executive Committee.

EXPLOSIVE! Audio of Chairman Harnett’s Phone Conversation with Computer Plumber

We have been told many times that NCGOP Chairman Hasan Harnett’s email account had to be disabled because of some nebulous “security threat”.

NC4Hasan.com has cast significant doubt on that claim in this article.  When we did so, we promised there would be more to come.  Here is what may be only the first installment of additional information on that topic.

Note:  This article contains links to recorded audio.  We have edited these – one to remove from the recording time the Chairman spent on hold, and another that represents a key moment in the conversation.  No further editing, such as to change the actual content or meaning of the recordings was done.  A copy of the recording as we received it has been linked to at the end of the article.

On March 9, when the Chairman discovered that he could not access his email he placed a phone call to Computer Plumber, the firm that manages NCGOP’s email.  The Chairman spoke to Linda, who answered the phone.

The Chairman inquired as to why his email account was not available. After waiting on hold, he was told this:

The Chairman was told:

We would need you to call Greg (Greg Fornshell, NCGOP Staff Accountant) and talk to Greg about that, because he had us suspend your account yesterday.

When the Chairman asked Linda if she knew the reason that the account was disabled, she replied:

I don’t. We only do what he says, so you would need to uh, if he will contact us and tell us, we will, you know we’ll do whatever he says.  Just following instructions.

Hmmm… seems to me that if there was some sort of security threat, Linda might have known about that.  Furthermore, had the account been disabled due a security threat, it is more likely that it would have been done by the firm that manages IT resources for NCGOP, rather than by the staff accountant.

Here is the entire conversation, edited only to save you from having to endure too much of the music on hold.

Please note that we do not intend to in any way malign Linda or anyone else at Computer Plumber.  We’re sure they didn’t ask to become part of this drama.

Edit: We also have no intent to impugn the character of Greg Fornshell, NCGOP Staff Accountant.  As an employee of NCGOP, we suspect he was just doing as he was told.

For those who want every last second of the recording, here it is:

 

 

N & O: NC Republican Party chair says divide could affect state’s presidential delegates

Rather than post the entire story here, I’m going to just quote portions and respond.  A link to the original News & Observer story is below.

NOFilePhoto

Harnett says the state convention delegate election in May is part of the reason why members of the party’s Central Committee are trying to oust him. If no presidential candidate enters the July national convention with enough delegates to be nominated on the first ballot, many delegates would then be free to support any candidate on subsequent ballots.

Harnett said he’s concerned that establishment forces might try to elect delegates for Donald Trump and Ted Cruz who won’t support them after the first ballot.

“There are grave implications that are going to take place based on who the delegates are,” he said.

Indeed.  Could there possibly be a bigger or more powerful motivation to unseat the duly-elected Chairman?

Harnett was elected last June by the party’s Executive Committee, which includes hundreds of GOP leaders from across the state. Gov. Pat McCrory, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and many other Republican elected officials were backing another candidate for chairman.

Might this possibly be another motivation to unseat the duly-elected Chairman?

On March 20, the Central Committee took a vote of “no confidence” in Harnett, cut him off from party email and banned him from the GOP’s Raleigh headquarters. But as the smaller of the party’s two governing bodies, the Central Committee doesn’t have the power to remove the chairman.

Indeed, the Central Committe does not have the power to remove the Chairman. (thank goodness!).  Furthermore, they don’t have the power to cut the Chairman’s email off or ban him from headquarters.  But I guess that is none of the News & Observer’s business.

Harnett ran for chairman on a platform of lowering fees, and he said a higher fee will make the convention unaffordable for grass-roots Republican activists. He argues that higher attendance will result in national convention delegates who best reflect the wishes of GOP primary voters.

“I’m here to speak up on behalf of ‘we the people,’” he said, “when a small handful of individuals are trying to control every move.”

Which I am sure is just one of the reasons the Chairman has such broad support from the grass roots.

The rift between Harnett and Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse first became public earlier this month when Harnett’s email account was shut off amid what Woodhouse described as a “security” problem.

We have started to provide evidence that the story about the “security problem” is a lie, and will continue to do so.  Read more here.

(Garry) Terry said the party has hired armed security guards to keep staffers “safe” at the Hillsborough Street headquarters since Harnett was banned from the building.

Really?  Armed security guards?  On one hand they claim not enough money has been raised, and on the other, they hire armed security guards?

The party’s attorney, Tom Stark, said he’s been investigating allegations that Harnett ordered someone to hack into the party website to change details about the June convention. Stark said he has not finished the probe yet but has found evidence that “suggested that there’s someone out there that meant to cause damage” to the website.

As readers may be aware, we have some expertise in this area.  Every website we have ever owned, managed, or administrated has been attacked in one form or another.

In fact, even this very website – NC4Hasan.com – has been the target of such attacks.  Do we blame Messrs. Woodhouse and Cumbie and their cohorts?  No.  We examine the server logs, find the source of the attack, and usually just wind up blocking a range of IP addresses in China or Russia.

In our opinion, those defending the Central Committee need to drop this line of attack, unless they have much better evidence than we’re aware of – the statement by someone who has deep connections to those behind the attempted ouster.  Perhaps it’s the best thing they have.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article69105917.html