By Jake Kaplan

Here are some of the legal news stories making headlines this week:

The state of North Carolina is conducting a voter fraud investigation into former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

• Investigators launched the probe last month after it was reported that when Meadows registered to vote in the 2020 election, he listed his residential address as a mobile home in Scaly Mountain, N.C. However, in an interview with a local news station, the 2020 owner of the mobile home said that Meadows “never spent a night down there.” 
• According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, to register to vote in an election, one must “live in the county where you are registering, and have resided there for at least 30 days prior to the date of the election.”
• This week, local officials removed Meadows from the voter roll as the investigation continues. A spokesman for the Board said that local officials “administratively removed the voter registration of Mark Meadows … after documentation indicated he lived in Virginia and last voted in the 2021 election there.”

New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin resigned following a federal indictment in the Southern District of New York.

• A grand jury indicted Benjamin, who was a state senator before becoming lieutenant governor, on charges including, among others, bribery, wire fraud, and falsifying records for allegedly taking part in an illegal campaign finance scheme. 
• According to the U.S. Attorney for SDNY Damian Williams, Benjamin “​​used his power as a New York state senator to secure a state-funded grant in exchange for contributions to his own political campaigns. By doing so, Benjamin abused his power and effectively used state funds to support his political campaigns.”
• On the same day the Department of Justice unsealed the indictment, Benjamin resigned as lieutenant governor. In a statement, Governor Kathy Hochul said, “While the legal process plays out, it is clear to both of us that he cannot continue to serve as Lieutenant Governor. New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in their government, and I will continue working every day to deliver for them.”

Week In a Nutshell is part of the free weekly CAFE Brief newsletter. 

Sign up free to receive the CAFE Brief in your inbox every Friday: cafe.com/brief