DEEP TROUBLE

New Election Fraud Charges For North Carolina GOP Operative

Leslie McCrae Dowless indicted on new counts of obstruction of justice and perjury related to the overturned election.

The Republican operative at the center of an election fraud investigation in the now-overturned 2018 North Carolina congressional race was hit with a new set of indictments Tuesday. Leslie McCrae Dowless was indicted by a Wake County grand jury on two counts of felony obstruction of justice, perjury, solicitation to commit perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice and possession of absentee ballot, according to CNN. The operative worked for Republican candidate Mark Harris who received 905 more votes than Democratic candidate Dan McCready in the election, but the result wasn't certified. It's the second set of indictments against Dowless related to the alleged fraud scheme—he denied wrongdoing after the first but is yet to comment on the new charges. Seven other people who prosecutors say were involved were also were indicted Tuesday.