BUCKHANNON — On Friday, The Federal Bureau of Investigations raided the home of Councilman David McCauley, who also served as the former Mayor of Buckhannon. Additionally, McCauley works as the General Legal Counsel and Senior Lecturer at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
The FBI was joined by the Pittsburgh Police Department, West Virginia State Police, and Upshur County Sheriff’s Department at McCauley’s residence.
Federal agents were seen carrying numerous boxes of unidentified confiscated materials out of the home during the search.
Earlier this month, sources told Mountaineer Journal that students from Buckhannon-Upshur High School have been interviewed by law enforcement allegedly pertaining to the elements concerning the investigation.
Students from McCauley’s class told The Journal that the professor unexpectedly did not show up on the day of the raid, and provided no indication that anything was amiss weeks prior.
McCauley is only one-of-two remaining councilmen in the liberal block of Buckhannon City Council. Serving as the city attorney for nearly 40 years, liberal community activists felt that he was the most qualified like-minded ideological leader to support in the 2022 Buckhannon City Council Election. McCauley won the election by only 28 votes against Shelia Sines.
Prior to his victory in 2022, McCauley suffered a significant loss in 2020 during his re-election campaign for Mayor of Buckhannon, obtaining only 42.1 percent of the vote.
In a statement released by the City of Buckhannon, City Recorder Randy Sanders expressed:
“The City of Buckhannon has been made aware of an investigation involving a member of City Council. The City will continue to closely follow this case, and will act appropriately as facts emerge, but the City has no further comment at this time.”
According to WV Code §6-6-7, city councilmembers may be removed “by a duly enacted resolution of the governing body of the municipality which sets forth therein the name and office of the challenged officer, the alleged wrongful acts, the dates the alleged acts occurred and the grounds for removal as provided in this article.” This grants the Buckhannon City Council the authority to impeach McCauley if it deems such action necessary.