Enviros Made Scott Phipps’ Enemies List

Before she was sent to prison for extortion, former N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps and aide Mike Blanton allegedly compiled lists of people and groups they considered adversaries of Phipps and her department, reports The Insider. The lists were apparently drawn up after the FBI began investigating Phipps’ campaign finances in 2002.

The lists were divided into three sections: “external opposed,” “enemies” and “internal opposed.” Among those making the enemies roll, according to The Insider, were “EDF” (presumably Environmental Defense, formerly known as the Environmental Defense Fund), “Sierra Club,” “PETA” (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), “River Keepers,” “SELC” (Southern Environmental Law Center) and “ELF/ALF” (presumably a reference to radical direct-action groups Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front).

Others on the enemies list were N.C. State University, former Gov. Jim Hunt and Charlotte Observer reporter Stephanie Gibbs. Over at the Raleigh News & Observer, investigative reporters extraordinaire Joe Neff and Pat Stith and editorial page chief Steve Ford were deemed merely “external opposed.” Hmph.