News-Record.com

Audio Update: Click here to listen to the off-topic Q+A with Easley. (Audio server is back up.)

So Gov. Easley was giving a news conference Tuesday and darn but if those pesky reporters didn’t up an ask him some questions not on his agenda.

As you may know, the federal trial of Kevin Geddings, (reg. req.) who by all accounts lied to state officials when he was appointed to the lottery commission last year, begins Wednesday.

Now, Easley didn’t call all us scruffy media types to talk about anything related to the lottery or corruption on Tuesday. Nope – he had a bunch of education folks like state BOE chairman Howard Lee and legislators like Sen. Kay Hagan up on the dais with him to talk about improving low performing schools.

But when reporters only get to lob questions at the governor sporadically, well, your nice little education news conference is going to get all gummed up with corruption questions.

So all the assembled honorables and education folks got to stand awkwardly, some shifting their weight from one foot to the other, and hope they weren’t in the camera shot as Easley answered questions about whether he knew Geddings worked for a lottery vendor before assigning him to the lottery commission.

I’m sure those running for re-election must have been really happy to be standing in front of a room full of reporters while the biggest public corruption scandal in the state since we packed an Ag Commissioner off to the federal pen was discussed.

Easley did, by the way, say that he didn’t know if anyone on his staff was going to be called to testify at the trial and that his own knowledge of the affair was limited.

“I did not know he was involved with Scientific Games when he was appointed,” Easley said. “Based on my conversation with the Speaker (Jim Black), I don’t think he knew either.”