Robert Ford Threatens To Expose Senators

Former S.C. Sen. Robert Ford says he has dirt on seven of the State Senators who “lynched” him earlier this year – and that he plans to expose their alleged conflicts of interest in the event they do not resign first.

Ford resigned his seat in the S.C. Senate earlier this year amid an investigation into allegations that he habitually misused campaign funds. Specifically, Ford was busted spending campaign cash at a pair of adult bookstores (he claims these were legitimate expenditures on “gag gifts” for campaign staffers) and on the purchase of “male enhancement” pills (Ford claims this was a “fraudulent” expense).

While we believe he deserved to go down, Ford’s case did raise an important question about the selective enforcement of South Carolina’s ethics laws. In fact his trial exposed the rampant hypocrisy of “Republican” members of the S.C. General Assembly – who habitually ignore much more serious ethics violations committed by members of their own party.

Now … does Ford really have the goods on his ex-colleagues? He certainly thinks so.

“This is going to make the Tea Party movement look like a beer drinking contest,” Ford told reporter Corey Hutchins in a story published in The (Charleston, S.C.) City Paper.

Huh?

Ford’s allegations against these unnamed Senators were first made in an email sent to his supporters earlier this week.

“At the time I was being persecuted and lynched by the Senate Ethics Committee; I had no knowledge that seven of these gentlemen were receiving millions and millions of dollars from the public in their positions as senators,” Ford wrote. “To receive public and legal contracts from state agencies or other public entities and engaging in nepotism at its highest level; and to funnel money through institutions for their charitable groups from which they draw salaries is ludicrous and unethical.”

Ford added that “I am talking about several hundred million of dollars that members of the S.C. Senate alone have received through public contracts.”

FITS has already reported on the numerous taxpayer-funded concrete contracts received by powerful S.C. Senate finance chairman Hugh Leatherman – rumored to be one of the names on Ford’s list.

Who else is on the list? We’re told Ford has singled out S.C. “Majority” Leader Harvey Peeler as well as fiscally liberal “Republican” Luke Rankin (RINO-Myrtle Beach), among others.

Guess we’ll find out soon enough, though …

“I am calling for every public elected official to stop this practice, if not; in the next few weeks and months their names will be exposed,” Ford said. “If they are guilty of this type of abuse they should resign and give up their office. I am going to make sure that the public is no longer tolerant of this kind of conduct. The decision is yours.”