Roy Cooper's campaign hires Marc Elias firm to block health query

A North Carolina news outlet sought clarification on the health of two-term governor Roy Cooper, citing recent health scares among national figures such as President Joe Biden, Senator Mitch McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham. After eight email attempts, the outlet received no response to the health question but was sent a two-page cease-and-desist letter from the Elias Law Group, the firm of election lawyer Marc Elias, which labeled any implication of a neurological issue as false and defamatory.

The letter asserted that Cooper intends to finish his term. The story was amplified by commentary from a podcast host who suggested Cooper was avoiding media scrutiny, and a Republican communications consultant who called the legal tactic a “dark-money” move. Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, who is younger than Cooper, affirmed his own fitness for office when asked the same questions.