STATE HOUSE INVESTIGATION UPDATE …
News columnist John Monk of The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper is confirming our reporting from earlier this month regarding a likely timetable for indictments in the ongoing investigation of alleged corruption at the S.C. State House.
According to Monk the investigation – which was exclusively unearthed by this website more than two years ago – “may possibly result in indictments by December.”
That’s consistent with what our sources have told us – and what we reported as recently as a week ago.
Monk’s report added that S.C. Reps. Rick Quinn and Jimmy Merrill “remain in play” related to the probe, which is being run out of the office of S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe.
(Read more about Quinn and Merrill’s possible exposure here and here, respectively).
Pascoe, a Democrat, won the right to continue his investigation earlier this year after Republican S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson tried unsuccessfully to shut down the investigation.
Wilson is one of Quinn’s closest political allies.
Some believe Pascoe’s investigation is a witch hunt targeting dozens of GOP lawmakers for relatively insignificant campaign finance violations. Others believe the probe is more narrowly-defined – intended to hold several former S.C. House Republican caucus leaders accountable for their self-serving behavior.
Our view? We’ve seen nothing to suggest that this investigation is a “shotgun” rather than a “rifle” – although as we exclusively reported back in the spring multiple current and former lawmakers could find themselves ensnared by the dragnet depending on how Pascoe chooses to define certain campaign finance laws.
The House is scheduled to convene on December 6 for a two-day “organizational” session to elect leaders and make committee assignments in anticipation of the upcoming legislative session, which gavels to order in January.
Those who believe that mass indictments are imminent are especially leery of this timetable because they believe Democrats are working behind the scenes to sabotage their majority – and that Pascoe’s probe is part of the plot.
Stay tuned … we’ve been on the leading edge of this investigation from day one and will continue to keep our readers apprised of the latest developments.
(Banner via Travis Bell Photography)