March 16, 2026/Media, Press

NEW REPORTING: Michael Whatley Knowingly “Championed [A] Convicted Child Sex Predator,” “Faces Mounting Questions”

Daily Beast: “West, in a candid conversation with the Daily Beast, said he was open with the party’s leadership about his past ‘from day one.’ That past includes charges of statutory rape involving three girls, two aged 14 and one aged 16”

New breaking reporting from the Daily Beast confirms that Michael Whatley knowingly appointed a convicted child sex offender, Harvey Lee West, while he was NCGOP Chair. In an interview, West revealed he was “open” with NCGOP leadership about his criminal record “from day one.”

West: “I openly discussed what happened. I openly discussed my time in prison. I openly discussed the charges. And I would tell people, ‘If you want me around, I will work and be glad to do so. If you don’t want me, I’ll go on down the road,’” he said.

Despite that, Whatley still appointed West to NCGOP leadership. And now, Whatley – yet again – refused to answer questions from reporters about why he knowingly elevated a convicted child sex predator and “now faces mounting questions.”

Read More:

Daily Beast: Trump Shrugs Off Child Sex Offender Scandal to Plug ‘Great’ GOP Candidate

Leigh Kimmins | March 16, 2026

  • A Republican Senate hopeful backed by President Donald Trump is facing backlash in his own party after he was accused of helping a convicted child sex offender get leadership roles.

  • But a revolt is now brewing in the ranks of the state GOP after a report last week detailed Whatley’s support for Harvey L. West Jr., 54, who secured leadership positions after serving a stint in prison.

  • West, in a candid conversation with the Daily Beast, said he was open with the party’s leadership about his past “from day one.” That past includes charges of statutory rape involving three girls, two aged 14 and one aged 16, in 1999, when West was 28 years old and working as a police officer.

  • “I openly discussed what happened. I openly discussed my time in prison. I openly discussed the charges. And I would tell people, ‘If you want me around, I will work and be glad to do so. If you don’t want me, I’ll go on down the road,’” he said.

  • But Whatley, accused of “championing” West’s ascent within the party, now faces mounting questions as he sees his own star rise with help from the president.

  • Asked how the saga affects Republicans in the state, Woodhouse added, “I think it affects, now that Michael’s on the ballot, it affects his race and every down-ballot Republican. They’re all at risk now.”

  • Andrew Bates, the North Carolina-born former White House senior deputy press secretary for Joe Biden, was among those to speak out against Whatley in light of his alleged ties to West. He told the Daily Beast: “Michael Whatley tried to dismiss the bipartisan investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s relationships with powerful people. Now it turns out he gave a convicted child sex predator a top position in the North Carolina Republican Party and shielded him from local party activists who didn’t want him near children. This is the same guy who helped pass the biggest health care cuts in history to lower taxes for the rich. There’s no one Michael Whatley won’t sell out to the well-connected.”

  • Former Virginia Republican congresswoman and network political analyst Barbara Comstock also took aim at Whatley and Trump’s backing of his campaign. “How much $$$ will Trump waste on this fool @WhatleyNC ?” she wrote on X. She later added: “Team Trump just can’t quit hanging with sex offenders…”

  • The Daily Beast emailed Whatley and the White House seeking comment but did not receive a reply.

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