DC insider Michael Whatley continues to be in the spotlight for calling the police on two reporters in the past few weeks. This comes after he has dodged reporter questions on his record of elevating a convicted child sex predator, pushing FEMA recommendations that benefit his stock portfolio, and having multiple warrants out for his arrest.  

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Spectrum News: Capital Tonight with Tim Boyum

July 20, 2026 

• Tim Boyum: “Over the weekend, another reporter was denied entry to a Michael Whatley campaign event.”
• Cory Vaillancourt: “Michael Whatley, for the second time in two weeks, called 911 on a reporter.”
• Bryan Anderson: “So when I asked that question, [Whatley] didn’t seem to have an answer to who his favorite Hurricanes player was. We wrote a story about it for The Assembly. After then, I did not receive a press release, press advisories.”

The Assembly: FEMA Under Fire

Bryan Anderson | July 21, 2026

• In other news of note to Western North Carolina, organizers of a campaign event for Whatley called the police on Cory Vaillancourt of The Asheville Citizen Times this weekend, telling the journalist it was a private event. According to the Citizen-Times, Waynesville Town Attorney Martha Bradley advised the Whatley organizers to grant Vaillancourt access since the event was not ticketed and held at a public recreation center during public operating hours.
• Vaillancourt said he introduced himself to the responding officers, explained the situation, and voluntarily left “to avoid dangerous escalation.” Whatley’s campaign didn’t respond to my request for comment about this either. 

Cardinal & Pine: NC’s hurricane ‘recovery czar’ just kicked out the reporter covering hurricane relief

July 22, 2026

• Billy Ball: “It’s not really a mystery why Whatley’s campaign might be frustrated with the press. In the last few months, reporters have published a string of stories the campaign probably wishes didn’t exist. The Asheville Citizen Times reported that FEMA reforms proposed by a committee Whatley chairs could benefit him financially. He’s also been criticized for supporting a longtime Republican worker who’s a convicted sex offender, and North Carolina Newsline reported that Whatley once faced arrest warrants for failing to appear in court multiple times for traffic citations.”
• Billy Ball: “It’s looking more and more like the Whatley campaign doesn’t have a problem with reporters; it’s with facts.”

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