The head of former Gov. Mike Easley's security detail has testified before a federal grand jury investigating Easley's airplane flights while in office.
     
State Highway Patrol Capt. Alan Melvin left the federal courthouse in Raleigh on Thursday afternoon. He told reporters only that he had been subpoenaed and told the truth.
     
Federal prosecutors want to know more about the private flights that Easley and his family took dating back to 2000, when Easley first ran for governor. The state Highway Patrol was asked to produce travel records.
     
A federal grand jury also had requested that two N.C. State University administrators testify Thursday, but the university said in news release that that testimony had been delayed.

Meanwhile, some Republican lawmakers want the General Assembly to get involved to help end what they call corruption in state government amidst investigation into former Democratic Governor Mike Easley and his wife.

Read Basnight and Hackney Letter [pdf]

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger points to the Jim Black scandals and Democratic promises to end corruption in a letter addressed to Gov. Bev Perdue, Senator Marc Basnight and Speaker Joe Hackney.

"Recent revelations about Gov. Easley indicate that the corruption continues. I hope you agree that this matter demands prompt investigation and legislative oversight hearings,” Berger wrote.

Hackney said it's not the General Assembly's job, especially while dealing with a state budget crisis.

"I think that's more important than the legislature taking its time to perform a law enforcement function over flight records in 2005,” Hackney said.

But Berger isn’t the only one calling for Assembly involvement. House Minority Leader Representative Paul Stam agrees.

"The legislature has oversight responsibilities, so it’s not an investigative body. But, for example, if the highway patrol is spending an undue amount of its money operating a taxi service for the governor, that would be a misuse of our budget, so we need to know how much is really appropriate for travel,” Stam said.

With one year of Easley's travel documents missing and no public explanation, Stam said Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety Reuben Young should testify.

“The Appropriations Committee on Justice and Public Safety need to ask Secretary Rueben Young to come in because he was also Governor Easley's legal counsel so they need to have him in to explain where the travel records are, who's the last person to see them, that's important." Stam said.

Earlier this week Young gave NBC 17 this statement.

"I take this matter seriously and I assure you the highway patrol investigation will be thorough, fair and impartial. This is no place for partisan politics,” Young said.