GOVERNOR “GOES LEFT” FOR COSTLY COUNSEL DURING REVENUE DEPARTMENT SCANDAL
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s administration retained a liberal Columbia, S.C. public relations firm and a left-of-center, insider law firm to assist her in handling this year’s massive security breach at the S.C. Department of Revenue (SCDOR). Not only that, these firms were retained by Haley more than a week before she informed the public of this unprecedented state-level breach.
And like Haley’s dubious credit monitoring deal with Experian, neither of these contracts was bid competitively.
The law firm of Nelson Mullins and the public relations firm Chernoff Silver have billed Haley’s administration more than $500,000 so far, according to testimony given to a legislative committee investigating the breach. That’s roughly 25 percent of the annual budget for the S.C. Governor’s Office.
Meanwhile Experian has already billed the state $12 million for one year of credit monitoring – and is asking for another $10 million to extend its services for a second year.
Haley’s administration has received a $20 million bailout to pay for all the costs associated with the breach.
Beginning in late August, SCDOR coughed up 3.8 million Social Security numbers, 3.3 million bank account numbers, tax info for more than 650,000 businesses and nearly 400,000 credit and debit card numbers to as-yet-unidentified hackers. Haley’s agency never even knew it had been hit – in fact it wasn’t until mid-October that federal law enforcement officials informed the state its system had been compromised.
At that point, Haley waited another sixteen days before going public with the news.
So … did taxpayers get their money’s worth as it relates to the “crisis management public relations counsel” Haley received?
Clearly not. In fact Haley’s handling of the hack has been an unmitigated disaster.
Haley initially claimed that “there wasn’t anything where anyone in state government could have done anything” to stop the breach – and that the Palmetto State used “industry standard” data security methods. Both of those claims turned out to be completely false – as a simple $25,000 expense could have prevented the hack (which will wind up costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars).
In other words, South Carolina taxpayers paid hundreds of thousands of dollars … for which they received nothing but a string of lies and excuses from their governor.
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30 comments
I’m incensed that this grifter is using our tax money to try and spin this in the best possible light.
I cannot stand this bitch.
But she was endorsed by Sic Willie.
DeMint also told WSC’s Kelly Golden that he expects Haley will announce her choice today.
She wouldn’t announce it on a Friday dump. She’ll announce it where and when she gets maximum exposure.
If the Gypsy Queen anoints Queen ToBe Catherine, a 5PM Friday Dead Turkey announcement would be logical.
Also it would give Tim Scott the weekend to have his swollen head extracted out of his ass.
White trash…no brown trash…whatever…trash.
Of the $166,000 reported in various publications, over 1/2 of that fee went to paid media (on-line publications and newspapers), the PR firm did not pocket it. BTW, you got the name of the PR firm wrong. Also BTW, to call them “liberal” is completely absurd. They are as white-bread, conservative Republican as it gets.
Sorry, ‘SonofStrom,’ but if if walks like a duck …
Those Chernoff folks wouldn’t survive without several government teats to suckle from. They are as liberal as they come.
Amen! They go all the way back (as liberals) to The Great Pumpkin, Johnny West.
Chernoff has received a good bit of government money over the years from what I heard. I believe state agencies are a large source of their money. I believe They are connected to the state money thru a number of chambers etc.
$300K for the law firm, and they hired a PR firm for $200K. You need to FOI the itemized bills, see what they billed for each hour.
And just what have they done for the money that actually relates to protecting SC citizens information and keeping us safe? What’s are lawyers and PR people going to do to fix an IT problem? Would you hire an IT professional to represent you in court? How about hiring a computer geek to help you pick up girls?
I am thinking she will tell us right up on the heels of Christmas —
Yep and it will be at 11 pm news cast.
MEMO –
FROM: The Public Who Care
TO: Governor Haley
Your mishandling of this incident, your influence peddling, and your buying of future support, are not going unnoticed by the voters of this state.
Many are quietly watching and waiting to see when your star will fade and disappear into the cosmos.
I once ordered a pizza from a communist.
That sound like an interesting tale – tell us the whole story.
Liberal = Failure…
And any Republican who does not get that, deserves to crash…
Sanford would pander to the black community (like many out-of-touch moderate-libetarirans)..and they laughed at his @$$ when he blew up in flames…
The left’ll laugh at Haley after robbing her blind…
I like this picture of Nikki. That quizzical look asks “was it good for you, too?”
Good one!
Now you’re turning on Nikki? Hahahaha!
For BigT, sorry.
No…warning her what happens when liberals are involved…
FITS understands…the crap he’s floating is failing….so now he’s associating her w/ Libs…
Hey, Nolff – I still want to hear about that damn pizza!
Domino’s pizza in Mauldin. The delivery guy had bumper stickers on his beat up Geo Prism. A che guevara and wicken a bumper sticker.
It wasn’t bad pizza, but I hope I don’t get a post written about how I ordered pizza from a communist.
Don’t tell anyone. He delivers to my house on most Sundays when the Panthers play.
Thanks for the story. Don’t worry about it, he probably borrowed the car from his mother. At least he has a job.
I’ve never seen this particular car in my region of South Mauldin. Then again, Domino’s pizza sucks. You should get a pie from The Pizza Factory.
I would be interested in how most of the Haley Haters here would react if they were in her position. I am not supporting her – I don’t really have an opinion of her – but in this case she followed the advice of law enforcement, presented the information that was given to her in what appears to be a timely manner – made some effort to get the word out and reduce potential panic, etc. Google similar incidents in other states…I’d say she did OK with this one. Sure the data at rest encryption statements were bastardized (and totally irrelevant in this case since the hacker apparently had a valid name/password from the email phishing), but what would YOU have done differently?
Seriously, I am all for bashing where it is due, but unless you have a Gov that happens to be a security expert, please enlighten me as to what your real expectations are. (Well, not Sic’s expectations…I really don’t need that imagery)
You don’t know she followed the advice of law enforcement. That could have very well been a BIG LIE like everything else we’ve been told for the last two and a half years.
Money talks and BS walks. The sheeple of our State and our nation continue to elect these “leaders” who then assume their role of Royalty. They are above the law and they have a right to do as they please. Until we have a true third party alternative to the lesser of two evils, we are screwed. Ron Paul was a lone voice in the wilderness and they would not even let him speak at the Republican Convention. He was by far the best choice for the future of our Country. The Parties, and I mean the Democrat and Republicans, have hijacked my country and I resent the hell out of it. It is past time for the Silent Majority to say enough is enough and throw the rascals out on their arses before it is too late.