These are the full comments of North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jerry Meek made at a press conference in Haywood County July 6 targeting U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, R-Brevard.

Republicans in Congress seem to have lost touch with their values.

Instead of bringing their values with them when they go to Washington, they’ve instead decided to leave their North Carolina values behind when they go to work every day.

But House Republicans can’t keep being one kind of person in Washington, and pretending to be another kind of person when they are back here at home.

The voters and families of the 11th Congressional District of North Carolina are already catching on. Instead of headlines in our newspapers that tell us what Congressman Charles Taylor is doing for our families, we get headlines that embarrass us. That means that Congressman Taylor is busy in Washington looking out for himself and for special interests, and not for us.

We’ve had just about enough of Charles Taylor’s ethical lapses, his catering to special interests, and his pandering to wealthy cronies.

That’s why the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have launched an advertising campaign that is targeted at the six worst offenders in Congress, and Congressman Taylor is one of them. The ads which target Members of Congress who are engulfed in their own ethical scandals, are running in only six congressional districts in the entire nation.

Congressman Charles Taylor was first elected in 1990. Ever since, his lack of integrity has landed him in one scandal after another. If you’re in the room tonight, you know that Charles Taylor’s business dealings make Tom DeLay’s look ethical by comparison. Whereas Tom DeLay got some free trips and didn’t file proper paperwork, Charles Taylor has personally profited for years from illegal and questionable business practices. If he ever had any, he left his mountain values at the door.

Charles Taylor owns a bank—the Blue Ridge Savings Bank—in which the top official, bank president Hayes Martin, who was also Taylor’s campaign treasurer, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering for making illegal loans. The beneficiary of the illegal $1.3 million loan was Charles Cagle, 11th District Republican Chair and a Taylor friend and campaign contributor. Cagle also pleaded guilty. Their sworn court testimony showed that Taylor micromanages all operations at the bank and was in full knowledge of the illegal loans. Yet Taylor successfully thwarted any investigation of himself. Jackson County was even forced to garnish Taylor’s congressional wages in order to collect back taxes. And this was for one of the wealthiest Members of Congress!

Taylor’s shady banking practices aren’t restricted to the United States. Taylor owns a bank in Russia where his business partner is a former KGB General. Russian newspapers report that Taylor may be fleecing the Russians as well, with interest rates as high as 60%! Congressman Taylor’s financial disclosure forms appear to lack complete and detailed information on his Russian banking interests including the Columbus Investment Company, of which the KGB general is also a partner.

We don’t have enough time tonight to recount all the allegations of impropriety. Voters in our mountains gave Charles Taylor their trust and he returned it with shame.

This is not a public-relations battle. This a matter of ethics and, accordingly, today I sent a letter to the Chairman, Doc Hastings, and Ranking Member, Alan Mollohan, of the U.S. House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct asking them to initiate an investigation of Congressman Taylor. A copy of that letter is available here.

For too many years, Charles Taylor has laughed all the way to the bank. In the mountains, our citizens take pride in helping our neighbors as we help ourselves. But the only values Charles Taylor cherishes are stocks and bonds. Charles Taylor’s net worth has grown to almost $60 million while his constituents have lost their health insurance and their jobs.

Families across the country are disgusted by Members of Congress who are more focused on their own self-interest than on the needs of the American people.

National Democrats, the State Democratic Party, and the local leaders here tonight are giving notice that the Charles Taylor era in Western North Carolina is coming to an end. Charles Taylor has abandoned the values of those he represents. In just 16 months, Western North Carolina families will have a chance to clean up Congress and restore honesty, integrity, and real leadership to the U.S. Congress.