S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell today issued the following statement regarding his decision to plead guilty to six of nine charges related to last month’s indictment on public corruption charges.
Here is Harrell’s statement …
“I have agreed to this today to end what has been a two year nightmare. This has been incredibly hard on my family and me, and it is time for it to end. We have a fundamental disagreement over the proper use of a campaign account to fly a private aircraft to conduct state and campaign business, but to continue to fight this would have taken at least another year, possibly two.
“Cathy and I are deeply appreciative to everyone who has offered words of encouragement and prayers on our behalf. My passion for our state remains as strong as it has ever been, and I will continue to look for ways to serve the Lowcountry and South Carolina.”
(Editor’s Note: The above communication is a statement issued by an elected official and does not necessarily reflect the editorial position of FITSNews.com. To submit your letter, news release, email blast, media advisory or issues statement for publication, click here).
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49 comments
Summary: I didn’t do it, nobody saw me do it, and you can’t prove anything.
What a load of crap. This reeks of a bad deal for the people of SC. What Prosecutor worth a damn, allows an accused criminal to walk on a charge with a slap on the wrist and without even evidencing contrition for his acts? I thought for a plea you had to at least tell the Judge you are sorry for your actions, and it won’t happen again. Look at his words. He is saying I did nothing wrong, I just want to get this over with and get on with my life.
I can let it pass if the Prosecutor uses Harrell to take down at least 3 big names or 20 small ones.
If that none of that happens, I agree with your statement.
Don’t hold your breath.
Oh, I won’t…but I try to be hopeful now and then so I don’t walk around so cynical. Unfortunately, my cynicism remains most of the time…but I try anyway.
“No matter how cynical you become, it’s never enough to keep up.”
–Lily Tomlin
If it doesn’t happen by the end of January 2015, we will know the truth that corrupt is deep in the Attorney General’s Office.
By then, Alan will be set for another four years and it will be too late. Something I just recently found out is that we DO have a choice in the Attorney General race in SC.
Parnell Diggs is running. I will vote for him because he is not connected to the Lexington Crime Ring in any way that I can discern.
http://www.parnelldiggs.com/AttorneyGeneral/
I do not know Parnell but I suppose he is a Democrat. A lot of the Democrats are want to blame the Republicans when everyone needs to go back and look a Operation Lost Rust. Folks this is not Party it is Politics as usual.
His site doesn’t indicate a party (that I can find). I’m guessing he’s running as an independent candidate. I don’t really care about parties much anymore. Used to vote mostly (but certainly not always) Republican. In recent history, the Republicans have become so corrupt and so like the Democrats mostly were, I find myself voting less and less for them. The Democrats had control of this state in the 60’s and part of the 70’s. Their corruption was bad at that time. In the here-and-now, the Republicans are in control of this state and they are doing a horrible job, with corruption levels equaling or far exceeding what the Democrats once had, here.
Alan Wilson’s lack of action with regard to the Lexington Crime Ring, which has close ties to Papa Joe, as well as other highly visible criminal entities in the Midlands, has been quite conspicuous.
I believe it is time for a change.
Diggs is blind. I can’t even wrap my head around the irony that would be a blind man being responsible for policing the crooked politicians of this state.
I have several friends who are blind and their perceptive abilities are often nothing short of amazing. Given that Wilson has blinders on with regard to the Lexington Crime Ring, the Columbia Crime Ring, the Lott Family, and other like enterprises, I don’t believe that Mr Diggs could do any worse of a job.
Wilson walks with a seeing eye dog. After this plea deal, not many left have any faith in him. He is not cut out for the job. Corruption and money won today. In a real court of law, Harrell would have been put in restrains and led away to do time behind bars.
You may wish to get hold of a transcript of his plea.He SPECIFICALLY admitted that he was GUILTY of all that he pleaded guilty to.
Anybody AFTER THE FACT can issue as self serving statement.
Doesn’t surprise me.You expected anything else?
“Hey, us Republican are really bad with the maths.”
So that’s what that clacking sound is when she is interviewed on video?
“My passion for our state remains as strong as it has ever been, and I will continue to look for ways to serve the Lowcountry and South Carolina.”
My passion for our state remains as strong as it has ever been, and I will continue to look for ways to SCREW the Lowcountry and South Carolina.
There, fixed it for you.
99% likely that he finds a way to “serve”, meaning riding the taxpayer gravy train through another legal entity, whether it’s his insurance business or some other new “startup”.
He wants “to serve man”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI_qjFtkE64
Ha! Very nicely done.
What will be interesting to see is if he can stay in business as an insurance broker. Maybe he’ll fail and slink away to Gawga or NorthKlina
Like a good donor neighbor ……..State Farm is …..there for ya..!!
+ 25 points and wind and hail policy discount…….
“I have agreed to this today to end what has been a two year nightmare. This has been incredibly hard on my family and me, and it is time for it to end. We have a fundamental disagreement over the proper use of a campaign account to fly a private aircraft to conduct state and campaign business, but to continue to fight this would have taken at least another year, possibly two.
“Cathy and I are deeply appreciative to everyone who has offered words of encouragement and prayers on our behalf. My passion for our state remains as strong as it has ever been, and I will continue to look for ways to serve the Lowcountry and South Carolina.”
Insta-translation:
“My lawyer said if I didn’t plea…I would likely go to prison.”
“My lawyer said if I didn’t plea . . I would be indicted by the fed’s and then go to prison for a mandatory minimum of years based on the amount of money I misappropriated.”
TBG was just trying to be brief, Amicus.
There is no double jeopardy. He can still be charged and prosecuted in US District Court. And by all means, the public at large wants him in prison. If the public forces it, it will be done.
Doesn’t all that money he has to pay back become unreported income?
Translation: “I’m still slicker and slimier than whale shit!”
Spoken like Jon Stewart…..
+25 points and a Comedy Central t-shirt…….
They should get Z-TAC a 25 year old head shot of him and a 15 year old head shot of her and let him do his Photoshop magic.
“I don’t feel tardy.”
What an asshole. How about: “I want to apologize to the people of South Carolina. You elected me to office because you trusted me – and I violated that trust. I’m sorry. I’ve caused embarrassment to our state and I regret that.” And Cathy? I bet she just wants to get back to the Lowcountry and pour a vodka & tonic.
I bet she just wants to get back to the Lowcountry and pour a vodka & tonic.
[Wistfully]
So would TBG….so would TBG.
Why not gin? Try Bombay Sapphire & a good tonic, you’ll change your mind.
I definitely like gin. … love Bombay Sapphire. But I think Cathy likes vodka at night. At least that’s what I’ve observed.
Harrell = fucked up sick in the head power freak psychopath. God damn him.
” I will continue to look for ways to screw people over and put other people’s money in my pocket” —- Bobby Harrell.
No contrition. No apology. No acknowledgement. Piece of work, he is.
I suppose Harrell will get state retirement and health benefits.
Boomerang 806……..
I can’t believe a judge would accept his plea agreement in light of a statement like this one.
The same judge tried to remove Harrell’s case from the Court System. I will bet nothing will be done about the Vote trading and the Black Caucus for Queen Jean and the other Judges appointment. Folks there are no difference when it comes to dealing in the Twp Party’s in South Carolina.
Wow. Let me rewrite the semantic content of that statement, and boil it down.
“Fuck y’all. Fuck ALL y’all. I didn’t do it. But whatever. Did I mention ‘Fuck y’all’?”
This.
Let’s get real here, there are a lot worse things going on in SC than someone misusing a campaign account. Keep in mind that we’re not talking about public money.
And Bobby Harrell has probably done far worse things but this was the one thing that got him removed from office.
So Bobby’s alot like Will: he didn’t really do it, he just stood up in court, swore to tell the truth and then lied just to get it all behind him.
Will needs to go back to his archives and find every story about a SC scandal that has never been resolved and repost. The investigators are probably looking at this site and could benefit from this historical perspective Fits offers.
He really is clueless. All the evidence in the world against him and he still wants us to believe he did nothing wrong. What’s going to be a hoot in his fall from grace is that he gets no special treatment from his probation officer. He won’t get snuck in through a special entrance, won’t be given preference in getting his name called, and has to answer all the same stupid human questions as anyone else. What will bd most humiliating for him is that he has to wait in thd same waiting area as the drug pushers and gang bangers, and has to be drug tested in the same manner as them, too, as in observed peeing in a cup by some government peon. Maybe after a few office visits, the message will sink in that he screwed up and he no longer is calling any shots. Unlike an attorney who gets convicted, though, he did not lose his livlihood.