SPEAKER VS. ATTORNEY GENERAL … PUBLIC TRUST HANGS IN BALANCE
Attorneys for embattled S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell (RINO-S.C.) are scheduled to meet with circuit court judge Robert Hood later this week to make their case for removing S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson from Harrell’s corruption case.
The only question is whether the high-profile meeting will be held in public (Wilson’s stated preference) – or behind closed doors (which is what Harrell wants).
According to The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier, attorneys for the S.C. Press Association are fighting to make sure the hearing is held in open court. Clearly, we support their position.
One of the most powerful elected officials in the state is attempting to have the state’s top prosecutor removed from his corruption case. To have such a discussion behind closed doors will only cement South Carolina’s reputation as one of the most corrupt – and least transparent – states in America.
In September 2012, Harrell was busted reimbursing himself more than $325,000 from his campaign account for dubious flight-related expenses (Harrell is a pilot). He later admitted his guilt by returning $23,000 of these reimbursements – although a proper accounting would have likely resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in additional reimbursements. Harrell also stands accused of applying improper pressure on the S.C. Pharmacy Board and the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (SCLLR) on behalf of his pharmaceutical business – using his official letterhead, no less.
Beyond that, his political action committee is under investigation for allegedly misappropriating and misreporting funds – including an effort to force taxpayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars on an unnecessary transportation project.
And that’s just the corruption we know about …
Wilson – who has a few ethical issues of his own – has nonetheless given us no reason (yet) to suspect that he isn’t conducting Harrell’s probe with the utmost integrity.
In fact we addressed several of the conspiracy theories surrounding Wilson in this post.
Stay tuned … as soon as we hear anything regarding the disposition of this meeting, we’ll let you know …
51 comments
I think action of Harrell’s lawyers telegraphs guilt! Why not hold hearing in public forum!
Keep corruption out of the public eye, I think. The media and public should revolt!
This is quite Nikkiesque and obamaesque, is it not?
I think not, WTF. Harrell’s lawyers are doing what they are supposed to do, defend their client. On the other hand, Wilson is the Pot calling the Kettle Black. With all of Wilson’s campaign finance violations, he is not fit to prosecute Harrell’s ethics violations. Wilson is only going to expose himself. BTW, where did all of Wilson’s campaign contributions go? uh uh uh ….. uh uh uh … I’m still waiting ….. uh uh uh ….
Hey bro (or sista), I don’t know if anyone squared you up on this, but when you come on here and start throwing down with every single post against your guy, especially when accentuated with Tango-style overly excited utterances like “blah blah blah” and “uh uh uh,” you start to look a little nutty. Take some deep breaths; a lot of folks on here don’t like your dude (I have no dog in this fight, and have no inside poop on it). You’ll wear yourself out at this pace (no to mention the fat that you’ll incite all of the crazies to come out and you’ll be up ’til the wee hours duking it out).
You liked being the hall monitor in middle school. Didn’t you?
My hair was too long. I am, however, easily annoyed by silliness.
Well, keep up the good work.
You must be part Rat Terrier, man!
When all the bs is over, we are going to have dozens of Harrells cronies facing federal indictments (echo echo echo). HAHAHAHAHAAHAH!!!!!
Maybe, maybe not, who knows? We shall see, won’t we. It would be more appropriate for Wilson to just do his job and stop wrangling with other people with issues that he has done himself. Wilson has no credibility going after Harrell on campaign finance issues when Wilson himself has violated the exact same laws. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword.
A WIS analysis of SC House Speaker Bobby Harrell’s campaing spending showed hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on cell phones, computers, private dinner club memberships and meals, as well as tens of thousands of dollars went to his tax payer-funded spokesman, Greg Foster. —- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gDAdBYpsgQ
That’s funny, Wilson has a spokesman, how is he getting paid? Does Wilson not have a cell phone? Does Wilson not have computers? Does Wilson not have dinners? Does Wilson not have a campaign chairman? Does Wilson not have a spokesman? That’s funny, Wilson looks and acts just like Harrell.
Wilson pays for his sung tax dollars of the AG office
Why can’t we all just get a long?
10 to 1 in favor of Cockroach Harrell
Cockroach Harrell has 30 years of markers in his back pocket and it looks like he is going all in on this hearing
Wilson will put on a good front but he will fold
Wilson will have to fold because he wrong. Wilson is getting bad advice from his cronies. If Wilson is dumb enough to get himself into this situation he probably is not smart enough to get himself out of it. So, Wilson is just going to go down and be exposed for what he is, a tool for his cronies…. BTW, where did all of his campaign funds go? …. I’m still waiting …. uh uh uh…..
Toal would not permit Judge Hood to even discuss having a hearing if she had not already worked out the plan to get Wilson off the case. That done, she has to keep it out of Federal Court. She is the Wizard behind the screen in this whole deal.
What do you know? The fact is that you know nothing. You don’t know what Toal would permit or not permit a hearing. You don’t know if she has worked out a plan to get Wilson off the case… blah blah blah… You don’t know if she has to keep it out of Federal Court …. blah blah blah…. You don’t know if she is the Wizard behind in this whole deal … blah blah blah… The fact is you don’t know diddly squat.
I think we should move forward here, and post your real name and home address? Whatcha think?
I was right, you don’t know diddly squat.
I do. Diddly Squat was a close personal friend of mine… and anonymous, you’re no diddly.
Hood will destroy himself if he rules in favor of Harrell. Is Harrell worth that to him? Is worth it to Hood to toss his career and means of living down the toilet for a crooked slimeball and a thief? Howe and Daniels will not come out of this either like they think if Hood rules in their favor.
If you only knew what you were talking about, then you would make some sense. Good luck thinking that a Judge is going to destroy himself, what planet are you from? Judges make decisions, that’s what they do. If anything this case will elevate Judge Hood’s stature, regardless of his decision. No one knew who he was, now, everyone is going to know. This case is only going to help Judge Hood.
Those guilty of serious crimes and doing serious time for such, most always resort to extreme measures like this. Bart Daniel is not much and has very few strong connections in the corrupt world of SC politics. But Gedney Howe has called on everyone he knows and is trading all his favors to save Harrell from prison. Harrells cronies are pumping in dollars for his defense. Why? Because they could go down with him, too. Howe is already suspected of crossing the line an engaging within criminal conduct that violates conspiracy statutes. We can now easily allege that they are all “entwined in collusion.” and that most certainly has merit. As to Judge Hood, he would be foolish to risk his own liberty and freedom from prison to play along with these future prison inmates. He best be strongly admonished to allow the court room to be fully open to the public in this hearing to remove a prosecutor from a high profile political corruption case/scandal – or he, too, will suffer the legal consequences of engaging within dishonest, corrupt, and criminal conduct. He wants to take the chance? That is his decision, of course. But is it really worth the risk to him and everything he has worked hard to accomplish in life? I hope he thinks long and hard about his future. Harrell and his band of corrupt gangsters are clearly not worth it.
Same logic and laws apply to Wilson and his cronies for their campaign finance abuses. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Wilson insists that all policies and process must be followed strictly when it suits him, but he also says “screw process” and ignore all rules when it suits him. It’s amazing how Wilson can ignore his campaign abuses and yet prosecute Harrell for the same abuses. Wilson has some soul searching to do.
Screw them both!
Satisfied?
Howeass and Fart to be called to the witness stand by the prosecution to testify with respect to their knowledge concerning Booby generating false and forged flight records?
You do not have any evidence that there are any false or forged flight records BTW, you have such a way with the English language with words like Fart, Booby, Howeass. Wow, how clever. Wilson will not be able to prosecute this case without exposing his own campaign finance abuses.
Everybody knows I lust for the taste of bobby’s liquid babies in my month. I cant have my man going to prison. Who would I suck while he is gone?
How Do You Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity? …….. If You suspect or know of an individual or a business that is not complying with the tax laws on issues such as
False Exemptions or Deductions
Kickbacks
False/Altered Document
Failure to Pay Tax
Unreported Income
Organized Crime
Failure to Withhold
Use Form 3949-A
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) pleaded guilty on February 20, 2013 to one count of wire and mail fraud in connection with his misuse of campaign funds. In August 2013 Jackson was sentenced to two and half years imprisonment.
Connecticut House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan’s (D) Campaign Manager Joshua Nassi was arrested and Finance Director Robert Braddock, Jr. was sentenced to three years in an FBI investigation into campaign finance corruption.
Florida Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, Jim Greer was sentenced to 18 months in prison plus one year of probation after pleading guilty to four counts of theft and one count of money laundering, admitting he stole some $200,000 of party donations.
Georgia State Senator Charles Walker (D), was convicted of 127 felony charges related to various schemes. Walker paid $698,047 in restitution and another $200,000 in fines and court fees. July 13, 2013.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (D) was found guilty on 20 counts of bribery.
Maine State Representative David R. Burns (R) Burns resigned his seat and pled guilty to misdemeanor forgery and theft charges and was sentenced to 6 months. (2012)
Massachusetts Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi (D) was found guilty of using his position to secure multimillion-dollar state contracts for special interest in exchange for kickbacks.
State Representative David R. Burns (R) Burns resigned his seat and pled guilty to misdemeanor forgery and theft charges and was sentenced to 6 months. (2012)
New York State Senator Shirley Huntley (D), convicted of mail fraud (2013).
North Carolina Governor Mike Easley (D) was convicted of a federal campaign law felony in November 2010.
SC Lieutenant Governor Ken Ard (R) resigned his position and pled guilty to 7 counts of mis-use of campaign funds. He was sentenced to five years probation, fined $5,000 and required to work 300 hours of community service. (2011)
SAME LOGIC AND LAWS APPLY TO WILSON AND HIS CRONIES FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE ABUSES. DO THE MATH.
ok… zero.
Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman (D) was found guilty of bribery, mail fraud and obstruction of justice on June 29, 2006, and sentenced to 88 months.
State Senator Ernie Newton (D) found guilty of nine felony counts in a public corruption scandal and served four years in a Federal Correctional Facility. Newton accepted a $5,000 bribe, evaded taxes and pilfering campaign contributions to pay for car repairs and personal cellphone calls.
Florida State Representative Ray Sansom (R) resigned as Speaker of the House and was then indicted on charges of grand theft and conspiracy in conjunction with a Republican fundraiser and developer and the president of a local college.
New Jersey State Senator Joseph Coniglio (D) indicted for abusing state grants, mail fraud and extortion
New Mexico State Treasurer Robert Virgil (D) was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 37 months in prison and fined $97,000. (2007)
Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives James B. Black (D) pleaded guilty to a federal charge of public corruption on February 15, 2007, and sentenced to five years in prison.
State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel (R) convicted on cocaine charges. (2007)
Coke is expensive. As the song goes, “Theres a hole in Daddys arm, where all the money goes, Jesus Christ died for nothing I suppose.”
Funny how TR is the only one who does Coke in South Crackalackie.
Well, at least on Fits Ravenel is the Cokehead in Residence. The only cokehead actually.
South Carolina Senator Albert Eugene Carmichael (D) was sentenced to ten years in prison for conspiracy to buy votes, obstruction of justice, and vote buying.
Even The State agrees with Sic. Weird.
http://www.thestate.com/2014/03/17/3332091/editorial-judge-should-hear-harrells.html
Hood is a Citadel man. He worked as Asst. AG responsible for the State Grand Jury. He worked for FITS’ lawyer Pete Strom. He should have the backbone necessary to do the right thing.
All that’s true and good. But he works for Jean Toal now.
I can hear the banjos already.
ALAN WILSON IS CHANGING (4) FOUR YEARS OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS DATING BACK TO 2010 – THUS FAR HAS FILED (15) NEW QUARTERLY CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS – IN OTHER WORDS, WILSON’S CAMPAIGN REPORTS WERE WRONG EVERY QUARTER FOR FOUR YEARS.
COLUMBIA — The campaign for South Carolina’s top prosecutor is working to correct four years’ worth of quarterly filings after questions from The Associated Press.
Since Sunday, Attorney General Alan Wilson’s campaign has filed new reports for every quarterly disclosure since January 2010. The amendments come days after the AP asked the campaign about contributions that appeared to exceed the limit of $3,500 per election cycle or appeared to be unreported.
State Ethics Commission attorney Cathy Hazelwood said Friday the agency was reviewing Wilson’s filings for potential over-the-limit donations.
As attorney general, Wilson’s job includes prosecuting criminal violations of ethics law.
Earlier this month, his campaign returned $200 to a lobbyist who donated to his successful 2010 bid, after notification from the Ethics Commission. State law bars legislators and statewide officers from accepting money from lobbyists.
Quinn told the AP then that the campaign also was correcting filings related to a legal firm’s donations, so it didn’t appear it gave the maximum contribution twice in the same cycle. One of the $3,500 donations from Hall & Bowers should have been applied to Wilson’s 2010 debt, he said.
That brought questions about other donations.
Quinn said the campaign has already refunded two companies whose contributions last fall put them over the limit for the upcoming election. Those refunds to Lorilland and Cash America – in January and February respectively – should be reflected in the first-quarter filing, due next month.
Four donations appeared over the limit because the online filing gave the day they were deposited in the bank, which seemed to put them at the beginning of a cycle, rather than when the checks were written a week or two earlier. Other technical errors were explained as a misspelling and an online glitch. The campaign refunded one of JM Family Enterprises’ $3,500 donations from this cycle in January 2013.
“We are doing our best to make all of the attorney general’s disclosures over the past four years absolutely error-free,” Quinn said.
“Attorney General Wilson correcting campaign filings back to 2010 after questions”
Last March, Wilson’s campaign corrected his filings after a review by an independent accountant found $134,000 in previously unreported donations and expenses surrounding his 2010 win. His campaign chairman attributed the 68 donations and 16 payments to human error.
As of Friday, nine of those donations, all received online, still hadn’t been reported. The campaign last year amended filings to show the credit card processing fees paid for those nine, but not the donations themselves. Those were among the campaign’s fixes Monday.
That investigation is also what sparked the campaign’s internal review last year. Days after Wilson forwarded an ethics complaint to the State Law Enforcement Division, he said he would return money to Harrell. However, while Harrell’s online filings listed the donation, Wilson’s did not.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/2014-03-17/attorney-general-wilson-correcting-campaign-filings-back-2010-after
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DIDN’T WILSON ALREADY HAVE AN INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANT REVIEW HIS CAMPAIGN FINANCES LAST YEAR? DIDN’T THEY ALREADY CORRECT HIS FiLINGS LAST YEAR? NOW. THEY ARE CORRECTING ALL OF HIS FILINGS AGAIN. LET’S DO THE MATH, WILSON FILED THE REPORTS THE FIRST TIME, THEN RE-FILED THE REPORTS A SECOND TIME AND NOW IS RE-FILING HIS REPORTS FOR THE THIRD TIME.
who cares. Harrell is still fucked!
Same logic and laws apply to Wilson
Eat shit and die. Your Harrell is going down and nothing can stop it. Now STFU, boy!