RALEIGH — At least in the near future, a grand jury may not bring charges against Attorney General Josh Stein over an allegedly false campaign ad, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The court order came just 24 hours after Wake County prosecutors convened a grand jury to hear their case and the jurors responded that they wanted to indict Stein and two top aides. The indictments could’ve come down the next time the grand jury was scheduled to meet, in less than a month — until the new court order shut that down, at least temporarily.
Tuesday’s order halts any further action in the criminal investigation until the federal courts can decide whether North Carolina’s law criminalizing false statements about politicians is a violation of the First Amendment.
