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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina’s Senate oversight committee is conducting a review of the office of attorney general Alan Wilson – although there is significant debate within the chamber over exactly what has (and hasn’t) been uncovered by the inquiry.
Wilson has served as the Palmetto State’s top prosecutor since 2011. He is not seeking a fifth term in 2026, choosing instead to campaign for governor.
Sources familiar with the query into his office – part of the oversight committee’s routine delegation of executive agency reviews – say Senate staff turned up any number of procurement-related questions regarding the office during the process. Initially, a recommendation was made to refer some of those questions to the S.C. Office of Inspector General (SCOIG).
That calculus changed abruptly earlier this month, however, when a staff attorney for S.C. Senate clerk Jeffrey S. Gossett reportedly reviewed the findings and recommended against making any referrals – or holding hearings. While it’s too soon to say whether that was the right decision, the attorney said to have made the call is a former Wilson staffer.
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Cassidy Murphy has worked for the Senate clerk’s ofice since January. Prior to taking that job, she spent three months as a lobbyist for a health insurance provider and ten months as lawyer for the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff (SCORS). Prior to that, she spent four months as an assistant attorney general in the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) wing of Wilson’s office.
Including her prior position as a lobbyist for the S.C. Farm Bureau Federation, that’s five jobs in the span of a little more than two years.
To be clear: there is no suggestion Wilson’s office applied pressure on Murphy (or anyone in the Senate) regarding these deliberations. According to our sources, neither the attorney general nor his staff were even aware the Senate was internally conflicted over how to handle the information it obtained. Also, as of this writing, there is no suggestion any of the “issues” uncovered by the panel involve Wilson personally.
The Senate oversight committee is led by some of the most powerful members of the chamber. Its chairman, Thomas Alexander, is president of the Senate. Meanwhile the subcommittee chairman ultimately tasked with this review is its majority leader, Shane Massey.
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Massey spoke frankly with FITSNews about the status of the review, saying there was “internal staff discussion” about a possible referral to the inspector general – but senators concluded evidence of wrongdoing was insufficient to warrant such a referral.
As for public hearings into the matter, Massey stated there was never a staff recommendation against holding those.
“We will definitely have public hearings,” Massey told us.
Massey also downplayed reports of Murphy’s involvement in the decision-making process, telling us he asked a different staff attorney to review the committee’s findings.
With Wilson having emerged as one of the top contenders for governor of the Palmetto State in 2026, any inquiry into his office is likely to draw additional attention. Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we specific information about this review and how the Senate plans to address the issue moving forward…
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UPDATE |
The hearing is scheduled…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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2 comments
Without engaging in any speculation what the underlying substance of the issue under review is at the AG’s office, the deliberative process being described here is how it should have been handled with Richard Eckstrom and especially Curtis Loftis. Have professional, experienced investigators like the OIG examine the issues, the documents, and witnesses off of the TV cameras and then make a formal report of their findings and recommendations to the Senate and/or House. In the case of Eckstrom and Loftis, that deliberative investigative process could have also been to allow the SEC investigation to take its course – and they are a tier above the OIG in terms of investigative resources and legal powers. Then, when all those reports had come in, along with the forensic accounting firm’s report, the Senate committee could hold some additional public hearings if they so choose, but the vast majority of the hard legwork and detailed analysis would have been accomplished. Instead, we got a shameful, embarrassing roadside circus spearheaded by two blowhard senators with personal vendettas and ruthless political ambitions who have zero background or experience in complex financial accounting affairs. Fortunately, the House saw the product of that dumpster fire and wanted no part of it. It would appear that some Senators, like Massey, carry a better head on their shoulders when directly handling these types of matters.
This lawyer can tell you the Senate will never discipline Wilson as he funds practically every law firm represented in the Senate. He decides which law firms take part in the lucrative cases and which ones can have the high profile cases to increase their profile.
And of course they all return the favor by contributing to his campaigns and his several PACs.
The Loftis event was a shit show. Grooms and Goldfinch should have to answer for that mockery of justice.