The video is being published Thursday by Democratic campaigners as they launch a new website. The Whatley Files highlight his ties to disgraced figures, including Mark Robinson, the state’s former lieutenant governor, whose run for governor imploded in scandal.

And they say it means he can never be trusted to protect the people of North Carolina from powerful predators.

Secrets detailed earlier this month how West had become a key player in the state Republican Party, hosting a fundraising picnic at his home, and holding a key GOP position when Whatley was state chairman.

Whatley has repeatedly sidestepped questions about how much he knew of West’s dark past when he reupped him to the Plan of Organization Committee, which controls party rulemaking.

But the video shared with Secrets shows Whatley being confronted by an activist outside a recent fundraiser. He was asked why he had promoted West into a position of authority.

“He was elected on his own,” Whatley answered.

Michele Woodhouse, a Republican who ran for House in the state’s 11th Congressional District in 2021, said Whatley was being less than honest, deflecting the question to talk about West’s role as chairman of the 1st Congressional District Committee.

“He appointed him to the Plan of Organization Committee on multiple occasions, and Harvey has confirmed that,” she said. “Plus, Michael promoted the picnic.”

West’s Down East Judicial Picnic became a crucial stop on the state’s fundraising circuit, with tickets costing as much as $1,500.

However, this year, West was forced to stand down from his role on the congressional district committee when details of his crimes resurfaced — in 2012, West said he was innocent and only pleaded guilty to charges of “taking indecent liberties with a child” to avoid spending decades in jail.

Democrats have made hay with Whatley’s connection to a convicted pedophile and his silence on the issue.

On Thursday, they are launching The Whatley Files. The website details his ties to West, his close relationship to Robinson, whom he called the “greatest lieutenant governor in the United States,” and what they say was his role in playing down the importance of the Epstein files, calling it an attempt to change the narrative.

“D.C. insider Michael Whatley has spent his career elevating and protecting predators, including convicted child sex offender Harvey West,” said Mallory Payne, senior communications adviser for the North Carolina Democratic Party. “It’s disgusting, and North Carolinians deserve to know that Whatley will never protect us from abuse and corruption at the hands of those in power.”

Robinson lost his campaign for governor in 2024 after CNN reported he used an alias on a site called “Nude Africa” to post racist, homophobic, and sexually explicit comments.

At the time, Pat McCrory, the former Republican governor of North Carolina, said Whatley had enabled Robinson’s rise and “ignored many known flaws” that made him a “ticking time bomb.”

For its part, the Whatley campaign promised to take the fight straight back to the Democratic candidate, drawing attention to Roy Cooper’s record as governor when he released prisoners during the pandemic.

“If Roy Cooper wants a fight over criminals, game on,” said DJ Griffin, a Whatley campaign spokesman. “He’s the one who let thousands out early and put North Carolina communities at risk.

“Michael Whatley has never released a single criminal or put a single North Carolinian at risk. Instead of Cooper answering for his record, his allies are pushing a smear and hacks in the media are running with it. It’s a distraction, and voters see right through it.”

Whatley faces a tough election battle in a state that is central to Democratic hopes of seizing the Senate. Polls published in the past month show him trailing Cooper by up to 8 percentage points.

He also trails his rival in fundraising. Cooper raised $13.8 million compared with Whatley’s $5 million in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest filings.

And even some Republicans fear Whatley has given up on winning what is a key contest in the struggle for the Senate.

“The party had the opportunity to do something about it but didn’t,” said Woodhouse, who said she raised. “And they still aren’t doing anything.”

Why don’t reporters own tuxedos anymore?

It’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner weekend, which brings us the annual tradition of a Washington reporter writing about renting a tuxedo.

This year, it was E&E News’s Scott Waldman’s turn. He described visiting Anthony’s Tuxedos in Georgetown.

“I had just been fitted for my tux when I hear someone come in and start speaking to Ed [the owner]. I walk out, and it’s me, the owner, and Justice Samuel Alito staring awkwardly at each other,” Waldman told Politico Playbook.

Let’s hope Supreme Court justices have their own tuxedos, and Alito was there to pick up shirt studs or some such.

But the main takeaway is that reporters don’t seem to own tuxedos anymore. Secrets certainly does. And will be wearing the same one he has worn for 34 years. Which means no sudden movements at the dinner on Saturday night.

Quote of the day

Mike Pence, the former vice president, has been having a year. His think tank has become more and more relevant, collecting defectors unhappy with the direction of the Heritage Foundation, and he has been one of the most vocal of Trump’s defenders over the war in Iran.

Now the noted evangelical Christian and former Catholic, having made the opposite journey to his successor, JD Vance, has weighed into Trump’s feud with Pope Leo. He said he found the president’s “language and images,” such as depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure, to be “offensive.”

“I think the Pope has every right to express himself in a manner that he believes is consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the president has every right to express his view and his agenda for the American people,” he told MS Now. “If I was advising him, as I did every day for 4 1/2 years, I’d say, ‘Let the pope be the pope, and you be the president.’”

Lunchtime reading

A new era and new leadership: The generals who are running Iran: Trump has paused talks with Iran because it is unclear whether negotiators can actually deliver on promises. This piece is an excellent guide to who is in charge and the power dynamics among the clerics, civilian leaders, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Economic intelligence on Iran and China is shaping Trump’s strategy: Our Tom Rogan argues that far from being a president flipping and flopping in unpredictable ways, Trump’s approach to Iran is shaped by economic data and intelligence.

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