Chairman Bob White and presumably County Attorney Megan Morgan have crafted a new and revised censure motion against Commissioner Paul Beaumont. Despite revisions, the updated version still lacks a factual foundation and even introduces its own inaccuracies. In the words of Ben Shapiro, White and Morgan are “entitled to their opinions, but not their own set of facts.”

The bombshell is coming

At the end of the day, had Morgan conducted a thorough investigation into this matter before commissioners tried and convicted Beaumont in two days full of back and forth emails, this wouldn’t be newsworthy. Records the county is unfamiliar with, but known to BlackwaterReports, will shut down this conspiracy and expose corruption at the highest levels in county government. Rest assured the county will say “if we had known,” but the reality is you don’t ask for evidence from the defendant after conviction. We published all 160+ emails exchanged behind Beaumont’s back. They are nasty, mean spirited, and lacked factual basis.

Charges

While the number of charges against Beaumont has dropped from four to three, the remaining accusations cast doubt on the veracity of those responsible for drafting them.

Charge 1: Following the October 16, 2023 Closed Session of the Currituck County Board of Commissioners pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §143-318.11(a)(6) to discuss personnel matters, Commissioner Paul M. Beaumont improperly disclosed contents of conversations from the closed session of the Board of Commissioners to other individuals; 

BlackwaterReports: This charge is unfounded, leaving us to question what exactly White believes Beaumont said and to whom. Professors Kristina Wilson and Robert P. Joyce of the UNC School of Government have already weighed in on this matter. They assert that once the purpose of a closed meeting has been fulfilled and can no longer be thwarted, its contents become public.

Charge 2:  In November 2023, Commissioner Paul M. Beaumont began conversations with a company called Insight Global. It became clear that Commissioner Paul M. Beaumont had caused, through his interactions with Insight Global, a position for county manager to be created. No such position was available or agreed and voted upon by the board of commissioners. The county attorney was directed to contact Insight Global to gather more information on how this job was created and Commissioner Paul M. Beaumont’s role. Upon speaking with several individuals within Insight Global to include Insight Global’s attorney, it was learned that Commissioner Paul M. Beaumont was instrumental in the creation of this job and he informed Insight Global the position needed to be filled by the second week of January. When confronted about the situation, Commissioner Paul M. Beaumont denied authorizing the posting and denied any knowledge of the position posting to the Board of Commissioners. 

BlackwaterReports: White conveniently overlooks his own public statement made on February 1, 2024, wherein he publicly endorsed Beaumont’s interaction with InsightGlobal and claimed to have informed other board members. However, multiple board members we’ve spoken to refute this assertion, stating they were never notified by White. Furthermore, some of the charges leveled against Beaumont appear nonsensical, considering White authorized Beaumont’s engagement with InsightGlobal. It’s logical to conclude that if White sanctioned this activity, he (Beaumont) played a significant role in the creation of the job. Being instrumental in an activity endorsed by the county cannot be deemed a violation of the county’s ethics.

Moreover, the last sentence of one of the charges is crafted to mislead the reader and lacks crucial context. While it’s true that Beaumont did not authorize the posting, InsightGlobal has failed to provide any evidence to the contrary. This fact addresses the second part of the sentence as well.

Charge 3: Commissioner Paul M. Beaumont made false statements to the Daily Advance stating the county manager’s contract “was voted on not be renewed” and that Commissioner Mike Payment was somehow involved. Not only is that a false statement, but it contains information that was discussed in a closed session. 

BlackwaterReports: On January 30, 2024, the Daily Advance published an article featuring comments from Beaumont regarding the vote and notification process concerning county manager Ike McRee’s contract. In a surprising turn of events later that same day, county attorney Megan Morgan was quoted in a second article by the Advance, asserting that Beaumont’s earlier remarks were “false.” Morgan further stated that she had met with McRee and confirmed that he had never been served with notice.

However, in a complete reversal of her previous statement, on February 11, 2024, Morgan provided an interview to the Virginian-Pilot, divulging previously undisclosed details. In this interview, Morgan revealed that Bob White and Selina Jarvis had met with McRee and personally delivered the notice. This confirmation indicates that the board indeed convened and voted and that the chair and vice-chair adhered to the contractual obligation of delivering the notice. To suggest otherwise would imply that White and Jarvis acted unilaterally against McRee prior to serving notice.

The crafting of Charge 3 is a clear violation of the county code of ethics. Both White and Morgan, by their own statements, indicate they knew the charge was false but moved forward with crafting an official county document published on their website. BlackwaterReports has published every relevant public record related to this ongoing conspiracy. While we have our own opinions, the factual documents speak for themselves.