Former Gov. Roy Cooper — the current favorite to be our next U.S. Senator — is worried about politicians using criminal investigations against their political opponents. He might want to revisit his own history.
In a fundraising email this summer, Cooper accused Republicans of targeting their political opponents for persecution. He said Donald Trump’s Justice Department was “fomenting phony investigations that destroy trust in our judicial system.”
That’s a serious accusation. It’s also a remarkable one coming from Cooper.
On October 18, 2016, Cooper was North Carolina’s attorney general and the Democratic nominee for governor. During a televised debate with incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory, the two sparred over campaign contributions.
Cooper dropped a bombshell.
“If you want to talk about political contributions, governor, you’re the one who now has an FBI criminal investigation,” he declared.
There was just one problem. It wasn’t true.
The FBI had examined prison-maintenance contracts involving …
