Opinion Editorial
February 12, 2024

In an article by Corrine Saunders for the Virginian-Pilot, Currituck County Attorney Megan Morgan seemingly admits to deception. County officials, including Bob White, Selina Jarvis, and Megan Morgan, now acknowledge that County Manager Ike McRee was informed that his contract would not be renewed, contrary to previous denials of any such vote or notification.

In an interview with the Daily Advance on January 30, 2024, Morgan denied any vote on McRee’s contract, stating, “It is all false, they never had a vote.” However, her statement, “I verified with him (McRee), none of that is accurate,” suggests McRee may have misled her and the media. However, on February 11, 2024, a Virginian-Pilot article confirmed reports by BlackwaterReports and Commissioner Paul Beaumont regarding McRee’s contract were accurate. Morgan’s admission to the Pilot, wherein she acknowledged that a meeting between Chairman Bob White, Vice-Chair Selina Jarvis, and County Manager Ike McRee did occur, and notice of McRee’s contract not being renewed was delivered in person after publicly denying it, suggests a clear violation of both the county code of ethics and the state bar ethics. 

Morgan is not alone; there are plenty of Code of Ethics violations to go around and a serious breach of public trust. In White’s press release on February 1, 2024, he makes a number of assertions that have been proven to be half-truths at best. Some of White’s statements, such as when he asserts Beaumont worked secretly to remove (McRee) from his position, stand in contradiction to his own statement that he approved of Beaumont engaging InsightGlobal. White also says, “At no time has the Board leveled a public accusation against Paul Beaumont.” Oddly enough, that’s exactly what happened when the county attorney told the media, “It is all false,” referring to Beaumont’s earlier interview. Then, White continues to disparage Beaumont throughout the remainder of his lengthy statement.¹

Amidst this ongoing debacle, her employer appears to have been less than forthright beyond any errors Morgan may have made. The next logical step for Morgan, given her own complicity, intentional or not, is to resign or take a leave of absence, presenting all known facts to the District Attorney. Public trust in Currituck County’s government and Morgan’s office as county attorney has been severely eroded. At some point, someone in county government has to step up to the plate, be fair and honest, clear the air, and move the county forward. Commissioner Beaumont tried to do this and was shut down by White and Morgan.

It appears that had the county provided more comprehensive information regarding what might have been an inadvertent mistake by InsightGlobal, Paul Beaumont’s character might not have been impugned by county officials, thus preventing his reputation from being tarnished. BlackwaterReports reached out to Morgan, but did not hear back.

_{Footnote: 1. BlackwaterReports has preserved the entire HTML-(metadata) coded page containing White’s statement should it be altered, removed, or deleted.}