SC

The “Save Bobby” Bill?

WOULD SPEAKER’S PROPOSED “PROSECUTORIAL TAKEOVER” SAVE HIS SKIN? Embattled, scandal-scared S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell dropped a bombshell on the Palmetto State’s political landscape this week – pushing a pair of bills in his chamber to neuter South Carolina’s Attorney General. Harrell’s bills – which would allow a majority vote…

WOULD SPEAKER’S PROPOSED “PROSECUTORIAL TAKEOVER” SAVE HIS SKIN?

Embattled, scandal-scared S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell dropped a bombshell on the Palmetto State’s political landscape this week – pushing a pair of bills in his chamber to neuter South Carolina’s Attorney General.

Harrell’s bills – which would allow a majority vote of the S.C. General Assembly to strip the Attorney General of the vast majority of his prosecutorial responsibilities – represent perhaps the most brazen, corrupt and desperate assault on public integrity we’ve ever seen in this state.

And South Carolina is a cesspool of corruption, people …

Filed without warning (and with overwhelming numbers of legislative co-sponsors), Harrell’s bills would not only give the General Assembly the ability to selectively police public corruption cases across the state – but would amend the state constitution to strip the Attorney General of his role as the state’s “chief prosecutor.”

“Naked aggression,” one lawmaker told FITS. “Pure, naked aggression.”

Indeed … and from a branch of government that has shown absolutely no ability to police itself on corruption issues.

So … what’s behind this power play?

Easy: S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson is currently investigating Harrell on public corruption charges, and the powerful legislative leader is throwing everything including the kitchen sink at Wilson in an effort to cling to power.

In fact one ex-aide said he wanted to see Wilson’s “blood” – not to mention his “ass on a stick.”

Yeah … things have gotten testy.

But do Harrell’s bills also represent a backdoor attempt to save the Speaker’s skin?

According to the language one of the bills, H. 5072, Wilson would be stripped of his ability to prosecute public corruption cases related to “constitutional officers.” Generally, this is understood to mean elected officials who are chosen by voters every four years at the polls (i.e. Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Treasurer, Attorney General, Superintendent of Education, Comptroller General, etc).

But does the term “constitutional officer” also apply to Harrell? And could it potentially be used to shield him from prosecution?

“In the broadest possible sense a constitutional officer can be defined as any elected official referenced by the state constitution,” a source familiar with the issue tells FITS. “In fact there’s a 1962 Attorney General’s opinion referencing this question – one which concludes that the broadest possible definition can be applied to that term.”

The source added that “the question would probably wind up going to the courts” – a branch of government Harrell has in his back pocket after helping to engineer a legislative victory earlier this year for S.C. Chief Justice Jean Toal.

In other words Harrell’s bills could conceivably give him a “get out of jail free card” – no matter what Wilson’s prosecution uncovers against him.

What does Wilson think of that?

“Due to state grand jury secrecy requirements, it is inappropriate to comment on any matter that could have an impact on state grand jury investigations,” Wilson’s office told FITS. “As a general statement, we have confidence in the deliberative process of the General Assembly, and believe that members of the House and Senate will ultimately act in the public interest.”

Really?

We don’t share that confidence … not as long as Bobby Harrell is calling the shots in the S.C. House.

Ever since Harrell’s public corruption scandal first hit (way back in September 2012), he has responded like a criminal – lying and refusing to release his records, assassinating the character of one of the reporters who investigated him and then strong-arming her newspaper into backing down (by allegedly threatening to withhold an annual bribe the paper receives from the S.C. General Assembly).

But this latest effort – an attempt to rewrite the constitution of the state – is simply over-the-top.

We would urge all S.C. House members who signed onto these bills to think long and hard about what they are doing and whether it is in the best interests of the state.

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51 comments

Native Ink April 10, 2014 at 12:48 pm

Boy, wouldn’t Chris Christie like the power to appoint his own prosecutor? It would be like getting his personal attorneys to write a report “clearing” him of all wrong-doing.

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Native Ink April 10, 2014 at 12:50 pm

I’m going to try this with my wife. From now on, I get to decide if I did anything wrong.

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Will Folks aka Sic April 10, 2014 at 12:51 pm

Hahahahahaha! YES! See how well that goes over …

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well-i-am into it April 10, 2014 at 1:02 pm

….and all citizens should be able to nominate their friends and relatives to the grand jury investigating them…this makes it fair for everybody. I mean, if we are making laws in a delirium, let everyone benefit.

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guero April 11, 2014 at 11:59 am

Billy Folks doesn’t want to admit his boy, Kirkman, is a leading sponsor.

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Just another guy April 10, 2014 at 12:57 pm

All Hail King Bobby.

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a face in the crowd April 10, 2014 at 12:58 pm

The scary part, to me, is that there is no check on this behavior. The feds have little interest in SC and have basically written it off, except as a dumping ground for toxic waste.

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anonymous April 10, 2014 at 5:39 pm

Yep.

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Queen Jean April 10, 2014 at 5:41 pm

An as long as I have control of Bill Nettles, it will stay this way. Thanks for commenting and you will probably just stay a face in the crowd and will never be one of us in the elite.

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anonymous April 10, 2014 at 8:19 pm

Retard.

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Scrappy April 10, 2014 at 12:58 pm

Will, Please post a list of the co-sponsors of this bill.

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Just another guy April 10, 2014 at 1:20 pm

Here is the link to the bill. It is on the top of the bill who the sponsors are.

https://www.fitsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/5072.pdf

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Jodi April 11, 2014 at 1:32 am

What a host of whores. They should all be taken out, given one last cigarette, and shot. They all work for one man, and not their constituents. Hopefully their opponents will use this document / bill against them in upcoming elections.

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GrandTango April 10, 2014 at 1:34 pm

The nation democrats and the Obama Administration could be unraveling.

Ever notice: When it’s bad news for liberals, nationally (see Lerner-Cummings IRS scandal) FITS goes into hibernation about it. Same w/ race, like Hank Aaron (FITS hero) embarrassing himself and the Utash beating by a mob of racist blacks…. FITS finds some kook-job conspiracy to launch against a SC Republican…

FITS is just a lower-level, SC-based clone of Rachel Maddow, Lindsay Graham Bill Maher, and Jay Carney….

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Saluda Rapids April 10, 2014 at 2:15 pm

Stick to the topic, dumbass.

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jimlewisowb April 10, 2014 at 1:38 pm

Have no problem with stripping the Cockroach Attorney General of all power/authority

Have no problem with every Cockroach in the House signing the bill to do such

Have no problem with Cockroach Harrell establishing himself as Caesar

Have no problem in wishing that Harrell and his fellow Cockroaches end up like Caesar

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Manray April 10, 2014 at 1:47 pm

A ” corrupt and desperate assault on public integrity…” Sorry, but I live in South Carolina, what’s “public integrity?”

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GrandTango April 10, 2014 at 2:02 pm

Yeah, I get it…you’re a liberal or a liberal-tarian…you hate the public, and everybody except the tiny little cadre of kook-jobs or American-Haters, like you…There is never any integrity among anyone else…

Yall remind me of one of those whack-o, snake-handler churches (which is how you describe all Christians, except when YOU claim God……

Nobody but your insulated little sect is worthy of heaven…God has anointed you, FITS, Ron-Paul, Sanford and Obama as the Chosen…

You, and the pious like you, are incapable of stepping out of line…but er’body else is un-clean, and your state is a toilet, with you being the only non-feces floating…

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Milker's Analogies April 10, 2014 at 2:14 pm

Boy, you just hate it when Republicans get busted in this state.

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Manray April 11, 2014 at 12:01 am

A little facetiousness triggers an unhinged tirade! “(Y)ou hate the public…” Who are the public – Harrell, Haley, McConnell, et. al? Paragons all. I guess, GT, you stand with them? If there were a semblance of ethics laws in SC, all of them would be: (a) Out of office. (b) behind bars. Public integrity? There isn’t any. Corruption and cronyism rule.

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GrandTango April 11, 2014 at 6:00 am

I just cannot stand mindless cliché…from people who are trying to sound informed and smart.

It’s not intelligent, or wise, to attack people, w/ little, or no evidence, because they are in a position you either envy, or because you have no leadership experience…

All those people may be guilty, but until you have more support, you look like a raving lunatic, or a dope (like FITS) bashing them, with so little to indict them with…

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Centrist View April 10, 2014 at 2:28 pm

“…not to mention his “XXX on a stick.” ”

100 Things You Can Serve On A Stick
http://www.brit.co/100-on-a-stick/

Don’t seem to see ‘AG on a stick’ on the above web page.

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Philip Branton April 10, 2014 at 2:39 pm

Dear FItsnews Staff and comment hounds and readers,

As you all know, I am a federal civil SERVANT. The work and research that I have been conducting (for all sorts of reasons) by staying informed on certain topics offered by this website needs some input from you.

I know this at first may seem strange but their is a reason (a good one) that I need you all to do something.

Point blank…….I need as many of you as possible to log into your FACEBOOK accounts or any account you are a member of ( I know this is a “pandoras” box ) and do a search for my name: Philip Branton ….and come back into this comment section and report your results. I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS FOR MY RESEARCH.

This is no joke.

Think about what I am asking from this analogy. Just think if you called a stock broker and requested the broker to buy 100 shares. You wanted to let all your friends and fellow citizens know that you wanted to buy 100 shares. The kicker is….what if all other brokers and friends and fellow citizens saw that you only wanted to buy 1 share of stock, while your broker was telling you he was buying 100. How would the market sentiment be tilted.

Mr. Folks, do you ever wonder why MORE citizens do not ever get to read or hear about your information on this website. What if your website was being “frontrunned” just like a stock (ie…”Flash boys”..) Mr. Folks, what if data that our troops were using in Iraq or Afghanistan was being tilted the same way or….IN REVERSE..?

It is approximately 2:30 on a Thursday afternoon 4/10/2014……………its may be just time to “turn some tables”.

Let see just how seriously readers and comment hounds here for this website take themselves…SERIOUSLY..!

Thanks for everyone’s input. SPAWAR Atlantic in Charleston South Carolina may just prove the NSA ……”right”…!

Sincerely,

Philip Branton 843-218-3243 Code 5532 5’6″ 143lbs 29439 (Ding, Ding)

{ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B04XbfibgT4 }

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Native Ink April 10, 2014 at 3:34 pm

I read your name wrong and for a minute I thought your last name was Bratton, like Creed Bratton from The Office. From now on, I’m going to pretend that you’re Creed posting from his desk at work.

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Philip Branton April 10, 2014 at 3:46 pm

You go Native…..!!

When you type my name in to your FACEBOOK search, did I show up anywhere..?

Just asking….

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Native Ink April 10, 2014 at 6:34 pm

Yep, it did. I saw a crazy schematic of how to win the war in Afghanistan.

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Mike at the Beach April 10, 2014 at 6:19 pm

Although I am publicly shaming myself by admitting this, I did, in fact, search for you on Facebook per your cryptic and mysterious behest. Your FB page was included in the first few hits, amazingly enough, I guess. I wanted to link you to some video of COL Flagg (the nutty-as-a-cashew intel guy from the old MASH series) breaking his leg jumping through a window during one of his secret squirrel exits, but I couldn’t find a clip. A transcript, unfortunately, will be all you get today:

Flagg: “I have no home…I am the wind.” (jumps from window and crashes loudly outside, screams)

Hawkeye, looking out of window: “I think the wind just broke his leg…”

I’ll close with one of Flagg’s best quotes: “Don’t play dumb with me, because I’m better at it than anyone.”

Surely, you are playing us with this stuff, right?

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Philip Branton April 10, 2014 at 11:25 pm

LoL………..Mike, I may play at the beach (Folly); but I do not play around on Fitsnews.

I like your MASH analogy……..

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Guido Sarducci April 13, 2014 at 2:41 pm

Touché, Mike. Good one….

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The Truth Matters April 10, 2014 at 2:44 pm

We all get what you’re trying to do here Will … w/ all the “Harrell’s Bill” references … But the truth matters.

The truth is, this is Rep. Crawford’s Bill … not “Harrell’s Bill.” Heck, Harrell isn’t even one of the 80 co-sponsors.

Crawford introduced this bill because, under the current law, only the Atty. Gen. has the authority to prosecute ethical crimes committed by the Atty. Gen. And given all the ethical problems that have recently come to light about possible ethical crimes the Atty. Gen. has committed, it seems like that is exactly where this is headed.

You say this bill is about Harrell… It’s really about the Atty. Gen. dodging his own criminal prosecution.

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Thank you Pravda April 10, 2014 at 3:30 pm

“You say this bill is about Harrell… It’s really about the Atty. Gen. dodging his own criminal prosecution.”

What an utter crock of shit. How is it this bill just happens to come up now if that was the case? Bullshit!

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Mike at the Beach April 10, 2014 at 5:21 pm

Most excellent Soviet-era flashback pen name! They’re still kicking, though (and evidently posting here on FITS). Who knew?

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Thank you Pravda April 10, 2014 at 9:13 pm

He’s got 22 “up votes”, EVERY SINGLE DAMN ONE OF THEM IS A “GUEST VOTE”, uh huh….

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Mike at the Beach April 10, 2014 at 9:25 pm

Exactly what I was alluding to…straaaaaaaaange, no? Lots of brand new readers!

Just another guy April 10, 2014 at 3:49 pm

Do you really think that Harrell has to sponsor the bill to take any part in it? Please get your head out of your ass and into the game. This has his finger prints all over it, even if his name is not on it. Also, the AG can be investigated per the SC Constitution by the House. If Harrell thinks something wrong has occurred in the AG’s office around his campaign funds, or anything, he can bring impeachment charges. Everyone know the GA has 98% of the power in this state, if not 100%. They can do whatever they want right now without this type of bill. So The Truth Matters, Do you understand what is going on now?

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Pissed off voter April 10, 2014 at 4:54 pm

Fits do you have a list of legislators who agreed to this bill?

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easterndumbfuckastan April 10, 2014 at 5:01 pm

H. 5072

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill

Sponsors: Reps. K.R. Crawford, Branham, Southard, R.L. Ott, McEachern, Hosey, Anderson, Sabb,

Bannister, Finlay, Brannon, Burns, Neal, McCoy, Cobb-Hunter, Clyburn, Anthony, Erickson, Allison,

Taylor, Sellers, Gilliard, Murphy, Williams, Jefferson, Sandifer, Atwater, King, Douglas, Alexander,

Bales, Barfield, Bedingfield, G.A. Brown, Bowers, R.L. Brown, Chumley, Clemmons, Cole, Crosby,

Daning, Dillard, Edge, Forrester, Funderburk, Gagnon, George, Goldfinch, Hamilton, Hardwick, Hayes,

Henderson, Hiott, Hodges, Howard, Huggins, Loftis, Lowe, Mack, V.S. Moss, Nanney, Newton, Norrell,

Owens, Parks, Pitts, Putnam, Ridgeway, Rivers, Robinson-Simpson, Rutherford, Ryhal, Simrill, Skelton,

G.R. Smith, J.E. Smith, J.R. Smith, Sottile, Spires, Stringer, Thayer, Wells, White, Whitmire and Willis

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Mike at the Beach April 10, 2014 at 5:08 pm

Wow! I can’t believe that our paragon of virtue and all ’round stand-up kinda guy little Stevie Goldfinch signed on to a crooked-ass deal like this! I am in shock…

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nitrat April 10, 2014 at 6:11 pm

it would protect all of them, right?
pure self interest…they know they are corrupt and have no ethics and might need it some day.

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Mike at the Beach April 10, 2014 at 6:20 pm

Naturally…

anonymous April 10, 2014 at 8:23 pm

You are retarded………….

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Harrell is "stark raving mad" April 10, 2014 at 5:05 pm

Harrell’s rage at even the THOUGHT of our legal system crimping his outrageously corrupt lifestyle has made him go over the edge, into paranoia. . .

Now he wants special laws passed protecting HIM from laws all ordinary citizens must obey. . .

Like Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in “Apocalypse Now,” he has gone “stark raving mad.”

Harrell is “The Heart of Darkness.”

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anonymous April 10, 2014 at 8:15 pm

You are a retarded.

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nitrat April 10, 2014 at 5:42 pm

Bobby must have taken Wilson’s trying to shake him down over whatever piece of legislation he wanted real seriously.
One is as bad as the other.

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anonymous April 10, 2014 at 8:22 pm

You are a retard……

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Craig Slist April 11, 2014 at 1:02 pm

You are slick

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Harrell Is A Felon April 10, 2014 at 6:01 pm

I don’t give a fuck what any “pro” Harrell crony says. In Harrell’s own district, he is finished … wiped out. Word has spread like a virus. And the majority of Charlestonians are saying he has gone off the deep end as it is obvious that there is a prison sentence in his future. One way or another, the sack of shit is going to fall and he is going to lose everything he owns. We all know that now. What is really more interesting, is who in his circle of lawless rogues will go down with him.

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anonymous April 10, 2014 at 8:13 pm

You are a retard.

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hahaha April 11, 2014 at 1:00 pm

If you are referring to special needs, then maybe you are referring to Chris Slick

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HD April 10, 2014 at 6:58 pm

Please explain how this bill (HB 5072) strips the AG of his authority to prosecute public corruption cases. It removes nothing from the State Grand Jury statute, meaning the AG retains his authority to prosecute these cases, including against constitutional officers. The bill adds a section the authorizes the President Pro Tem and Speaker to appoint a Special Prosecutor in certain cases. That probably isn’t a good idea – but it doesn’t strip the AG of any authority he currently has.

As to the issue of the Speaker being a “constitutional officer,” I’d find that to be a rather eccentric conclusion considering the fact that the constitution doesn’t even require the House to have a Speaker.

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Bryan Wqsc Crabtree April 12, 2014 at 9:42 pm Reply

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