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N.C. prosecutor ends probe of ex-congressional candidate Mark Harris
Source: Associated Press
N.C. prosecutor ends probe of ex-congressional candidate
By GARY D. ROBERTSON
July 15, 2020
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former North Carolina congressional candidate won’t face state charges in an absentee ballot fraud investigation that’s already led to indictments against his hired political operative and a new election, a local prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said her office “is closing the matter” involving the Rev. Mark Harris, who ran for the 9th Congressional District seat in 2018.
State and federal agencies spent more than a year investigating the involvement of Harris and his campaign in absentee ballot operations in Bladen County. Freeman told The Associated Press that her office decided against charging Harris after speaking last week with a key witness she declined to identify.
Harris told the AP in a phone interview that he’s grateful for the opportunity “to finally restore my reputation,” and didn’t rule out running for political office again someday.
Harris, a Baptist minister, got the most votes in the November 2018 election, but an investigation soon began into allegations centering around McCrae Dowless, who was hired for Harris’ campaign in Bladen County. Harris didn’t run in a state-ordered new election, which Republican Dan Bishop won in September 2019.
-snip-
By GARY D. ROBERTSON
July 15, 2020
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former North Carolina congressional candidate won’t face state charges in an absentee ballot fraud investigation that’s already led to indictments against his hired political operative and a new election, a local prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said her office “is closing the matter” involving the Rev. Mark Harris, who ran for the 9th Congressional District seat in 2018.
State and federal agencies spent more than a year investigating the involvement of Harris and his campaign in absentee ballot operations in Bladen County. Freeman told The Associated Press that her office decided against charging Harris after speaking last week with a key witness she declined to identify.
Harris told the AP in a phone interview that he’s grateful for the opportunity “to finally restore my reputation,” and didn’t rule out running for political office again someday.
Harris, a Baptist minister, got the most votes in the November 2018 election, but an investigation soon began into allegations centering around McCrae Dowless, who was hired for Harris’ campaign in Bladen County. Harris didn’t run in a state-ordered new election, which Republican Dan Bishop won in September 2019.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/1cd1862143d994eb8863963d423c5959