Mysteries, Puzzles, and Unanswered Questions
From this twitter thread of unanswered questions.
Which party approached the other to settle?
What communications, if any, did UNC officials/lawyers have with UDC in the days immediately prior to UDC assigning their interest in Silent Sam to SCV?
Who, if anyone, conducted a review of state law and the UNC Policy Manual to confirm whether UGC had settlement powers at all?
What due diligence did UNC undertake in response to UDC’s request to take possession of the statue in August 2018 (with no additional demand for funds?)
What is the statutory meaning of “duly audited” in NCGS §143B-426.40A?
Reference to NCGS §143B-426.40A in this tweet.
Did anyone from the State Auditor's Office “duly audit” the settlement at the time? (Possibly @HampDellinger had mentioned this point)
Was a contemporaneous “warrant for payment of the claim” issued?
The Timeline
What date did settlement negotiations begin?
If UNC initiated the settlement, who authorized it?
What date was a settlement-in-principle reached (agreement to turn over statue plus $2.5 million?)
Why did BOG Chairman Randy Ramsey sign the consent judgment on 11/22, before SVC even had colorable title to Silent Sam?
Why did Ramsey and Bill Roper both sign the consent judgment before University Governance had an opportunity to meet to “approve” the proposal?
Prior to engaging in settlement negotiations, what background investigation / due dilligence was done on the SCV, the UDC, the legal claims alleged, and whether the SCV had even colorable title to the monument?
The Payout
What was the basis for arriving at the $2.5 million figure?
The most disturbing possibility, suggested by Dawn Vaughn on the December 5 Under the Dome podcast, is that it may have been a response to the North Carolina General Assembly's allocation of $2.5 million dollars for a monument to African Americans at the State Capitol (source).
Currently, this is mostly just speculation, but like, they really might be that dumb.
Where is the money now?
The Documents
Who drafted the Complaint?
TGD has off-the-record suggestions that it was drafted by Womble Bond Dickinson (source).
Who drafted the Answer?
Who drafted the Consent Judgment?
Who printed each of the 6 pleadings that were filed with the court on 11/27?
The North Carolina Attorney General
What date was the Attorney General's Office contacted about the settlement?
What specific request(s) were made by UNC to the Attorney General's Office as part of that contact?
What was the AG's Office's verbatim response?
The Silent Sham Trust
When was the trust established?
On November 27, 2019, the same day the original settlement was filed.
Where is the trust agreement?
“The trust will be held “independently by a non-party trustee,” but the UNC System has not specified who administers the money or how it will be distributed.” - News and Observer, December 2
How many trustees oversee it? 1? 3? Who are the trustees?
The Monument Trust document lists one trustee, Matthew S. McGonagle, misspelled in the document as Matthew S. McGonigle. Presumably it's this Matthew S. McGonagle.
What date was it decided he would be the trustee?
What was the selection process for choosing the trustee?
What is the selection process for replacing a trustee going forward?
This is complex, but described in the trust agreement. There's a requirement that if McGonagle stops being the trustee, there must aftewards always be a corporate trustee. The trust agreement appears to provide for both the possibility of multiple trustees and for the removal of trustees by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
What date was the IRS Form 1023 completed to get 501(c)(3) status?
Who completed it?
What date was it submitted?
Who paid the filing fee?
Why hasn't the Trust Agreement or 1023 been released?
The trust agreement was released on December 16, 2019.