No corruption in Charlotte city government, outside investigation says

A third-party investigation released Tuesday turned up no evidence of corruption or unethical behavior on Charlotte City Council.

Investigators looked into statements by at-large Councilwoman Victoria Watlington that alleged “unethical, immoral, and frankly, illegal activities occurring within City government.” And the city hired attorneys with the Cranfill Sumner law firm in July to conduct the investigation for a maximum cost of $25,000. The final cost was not immediately available.

Council received a report on the investigation during a closed session meeting on Monday. It shared a five-page report with the public at a Tuesday news conference.

Some processes and communications could be improved, the report found, but “these issues do not amount to misconduct or corruption.”

“Over the past several months, our city has been under a lot of scrutiny,” Mayor Vi Lyles said. “These egregious allegations hurt our team, and we owed it to them to investigate.”

Watlington allegations

Council voted in closed session in May to pay Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings a controversial $305,000 settlement, reportedly to avoid a lawsuit over comments from former Council member Tariq Bokhari.

Watlington, a Democrat, issued a statement from her campaign email shortly after council approved the agreement. The email contained the quote “Power Corrupts … and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely” and went on to allege unethical, immoral and illegal activity in city government.

In a subsequent email two days later, Watlington said her concerns had nothing to do with financial or widespread corruption.

Watlington told reporters at Tuesday’s news conference she stands by her previous statements, although the “power corrupts” quote was not interpreted how she had intended.

“At the end of the day, it wasn’t about causing any kind of chaos,” Watlington said. “It was about making sure that we are raising the standard and that people know there’s something to look at here.”

Investigation into alleged corruption in Charlotte government

At the direction of City Council, the city attorney’s office contacted Cranfill Sumner to conduct an independent investigation into Watlington’s statements.

Investigators Patrick Flanagan and Ariella Walsh spoke to Interim City Attorney Anthony Fox, the deputy city attorney, the city auditor, Lyles and all 11 council members. They also reviewed a host of documents, including emails between city leaders, city policies and an informal internal report on the matter by Fox and the city auditor.

Their investigation covered Watlington’s complaints about the transition of former City Attorney Patrick Baker, the appointment of Fox, the Jennings settlement, council’s closed sessions and “related subsequent developments,” according to the report.

In each instance, investigators found no evidence of unethical or illegal behavior. Findings on one issue — the leaking of closed meeting information to the public — remain inconclusive because the investigation could not trace the source of the leaks.

“This does not diminish Councilmember Watlington’s belief in her concerns. While certain processes could have been handled more effectively, we did not uncover evidence of illegality or corruption within City government,” the report states.

Watlington said she would have liked the report to include a detailed analysis of each of her concerns so she can better understand how investigators reached their conclusions, she said.

Moving forward, city leaders will discuss how they can change their policies, ensure council members understand statutes governing their roles and adhere to their procedures, Watlington said.

She does not have specific policy changes in mind, she said. Her priority will be honoring policies that already exist.

This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 2:31 PM.