WASHINGTON — It's been a rough few months for the North Carolina Republican Party.

First, the state called for a new election in the 9th Congressional District—which the GOP appeared to have won—after allegations the associates of Republican Mark Harris illegally handled mail-in ballots. 

And now, Robin Hayes, the former congressman who now serves as the state GOP's chairman, was indicted Tuesday and accused of helping to bribe a state official as well as making false statements to the FBI. 

Prosecutors allege that Hayes, along with three other men including a prominent GOP donor, tried to pay off a state insurance commissioner, Mike Causey, to take a handful of official actions that would benefit the donor's company. 

The donor, Greg Lindberg, owns the financial services company Eli Global and has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to largely GOP candidates. 

“The indictment unsealed today outlines a brazen bribery scheme in which Greg Lindberg and his coconspirators allegedly offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in exchange for official action that would benefit Lindberg’s business interests,” Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski said in a statement.

"Bribery of public officials at any level of government undermines confidence in our political system. The Criminal Division will use all the tools at our disposal—including the assistance of law-abiding public officials—to relentlessly investigate and prosecute corruption wherever we find it.”

North Carolina Republican Party Counsel Josh Howard said in a statement that the party "has been cooperating with the investigation for several months" and "remains fully operational" despite the indictment of its chairman. 

Lindberg’s attorney, Anne Tompkins, said in a statement that her client is "innocent of the charges in the indictment and we look forward to demonstrating this when we get our day in court.”

The news comes one day after Hayes announced that he'd step down after this year's state party convention, a decision he said he made because of complications from a recent surgery.

The indictment comes during a tumultuous time for the state party, less than two months after the state called for a new election in the state's 9th Congressional District after allegations that associates of Republican Mark Harris illegally handled mail-in ballots.