SUSPENDED SPEAKER “SURPRISED” IMAGE WAS WITHHELD FROM PUBLIC
By FITSNEWS || Suspended S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell believes his mug shot should have been released to the public, sources close to the embattled politician tell FITS.
In fact Harrell reportedly told his attorneys this week he has “no problem” with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) releasing the photo to the media – and was actually “surprised” it wasn’t released.
“He defers to SLED on the question and respects their decision to do what they believe is best but he was surprised it was not released,” the source said.
Harrell was arraigned this week on a nine-count state corruption indictment. As part of his arraignment, he was processed by law enforcement personnel – which included fingerprinting and a booking photo (a.k.a. mug shot).
Such photos are almost always released publicly, but in Harrell’s case SLED decided to keep Harrell’s picture under wraps – without providing anything resembling a compelling reason.
SLED is one of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley‘s cabinet agencies, prompting speculation that the governor – a longtime rival of Harrell – might have been trying to gin up some negative “special treatment” headlines for Harrell.
Certainly Haley has been outspoken in her criticism of Harrell in the wake of his indictment – which is quite curious given her own extensive history of much more egregious ethical misdeeds.
UPDATE: Ask … and you shall receive.
15 comments
Nikki has learned how to handle her cabinet heads from her cousin Gupta in India:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER9y79sM4Pc
LOL —- HAW-HAW 100+…
I’m not a fan of Nikki’s but she’s actually made some good cabinet picks in her later two years. Oakley is a lib but most of the others are actually decent. Much as I hate to admit it.
I have ever reason not to believe ANYTHING out of Harrell’s mouth. He has already been seen and caught many times playing psychological mind games. He will lie in a heartbeat.
I was interviewed by SLED a few years ago about a very bad South Carolina judge that, of course, had gotten a pass by Jean Toal. At the end of the interview, the SLED agent, said, “Of course, we will never cross Chief Justice Toal, but we just had to see if you had anything new. Have a good day.” Yes, SLED plays politics.
They’re the Betty Ford Clinic of law enforcement.
Classic
Law in SLED is a joke !!!
Well over a decade ago I sat inside an FBI field office, surrounded by agents – agents who said they would arrest a South Carolina judge and an adversaries attorney if the judge acted on something the adversaries attorney was demanding that the judge order. The sitting judge was admonished to this fact before the hearing. And needless to say, the judge spit fire – backed against the wall – and stayed far away from the matter. When the judge was coming up for screening related to another term on the bench, they withdrew.
… and let me add here; that sitting judge insulted the agents behind their backs – saying that “no FBI agent knows the law.” How wrong that judge was. I have the utmost respect for federal agents and what they face in their investigations of corruption. That aside, that former SC judge is currently still practicing law, last I heard.
Who cares about you and sled ? It is a criminal corrupt state. Move on !
He needs to release the SLED report too
SLED became a political arm of Toal and the Legislature under Robert Stewart and has bent over and spread it’s cheeks wider under keel.
Any organization which will initiate a Grand Jury investigation, with NO evidence, only to try and discredit a man who caught his wife with a High Ranking Republican, will do anything. Sounds like the KGB, or Nazi SS.
I guess if you have ties with the Chief Justice and a high ranking Senator, you can destroy someone for political payoff!
The end of the “Good SLED” era was when they forcibly “retired” former SLED Chief Oren Brady back in the late ’60s or early ’70s. Seems that he made the mistake of catching a County Judge self-appropriating food [several hams, if my memory serves correctly] from the SLED premises. Old Pete was “all right”, but he was too beholden to the Guvner and to many (famous or infamous) Senators for his job, and NEVER made a wave if he could “hep it”. Don’t knock Robert Stewart too much – he investigated the shenanigans at DHEC and charged “Bubsy” (the Commissioner) and “Saint Mike” (the “Assistant to the Commissioner” [translate as “asskisser or “lobbyist”] – later promoted to Commissioner upon the self-immolation of “Blond Bob Jackson”) with several counts of “Public Misconduct” in the early to mid ’70s. Only because the judge was the friend of the Commissioner’s father (then the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee) did both the miscreants escape with a $500 fine and probation. And after all, Saint Mike has the ugliest building on the State Hospital campus named for him.
Robert Stewart really is an honest man. Lots of people do not like him (somewhat because of that), but if one is Chief of SLED, one has no friends, and let us face the truth – it’s a good job, but you really need to pluck the right dingleberries to keep it.
SLED: What a joke