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by WILL FOLKS
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Agents of the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) have opened a new line of criminal inquiry into fired S.C. Election Commission (SCVotes.gov) executive director Howie Knapp.
Sources familiar with the status of the inquiry confirmed Knapp – who was ousted from his job yesterday afternoon (September 17, 2025) amid an internal probe – is reportedly being investigated in connection with at least one alleged wiretapping incident.
SLED has not confirmed the substance of its latest line of inquiry involving Knapp, although multiple sources familiar with the status of the investigation confirmed it was separate from the original probe of “allegations of misconduct” (.pdf) involving Knapp.
That investigation was exclusively reported by FITSNews back in January.
The new investigation was reportedly requested today (September 18, 2025).
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News of SLED’s presence at the agency this week was first reported by John Monk of The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper. Monk quoted SLED chief Mark Keel as confirming his agents were “conducting an investigation” at the agency’s headquarters in downtown Columbia, S.C., but declined to comment beyond that.
None of our sources had any additional information as to what may have prompted the wiretapping allegation – although SCVotes commissioners ousted Knapp yesterday following a lengthy executive session held behind closed doors in the agency’s conference room.
SCVotes commission chairman Dennis Shedd said the board’s decision to fire Knapp was “unrelated to the conduct of any election in South Carolina.”
Appointed in January 2022 and confirmed by the S.C. Senate a little over a year later, Knapp was the Palmetto State’s chief election officer prior to his termination.
In addition to SLED’s twin inquiries, Shedd – a former U.S. district court judge – asked the agency’s interim executive director, Jenny Wooten, to conduct an internal investigation into potential misconduct involving “managerial” staffers at the agency.
Of interest? Wooten was tapped as SCVotes’ interim director over Knapp’s hand-picked deputy executive director, Paige Salonich, who was listed as the agency’s second-in-command.
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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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5 comments
This may be the most integrity-testing post of mine for Will Folks to decide to run or not run.
And I do not hide that I post here because, for one thing, my complaints against judicial candidates INVARIABLY get dismissed by South Carolina’s Judicial Merit Selection Commission’s (“SC JMSC”) staff since my complaint against then-Chief-Justice Candidate Pleicones got heard in April 2015 (transcript available on SC JMSC’s website.
Prior to that, I had complained against then-SC-Circuit-Court Candidates Benjamin and Meadors (twice) and James. They all centered on the system’s failure to protect me against false criminal charges but, to the contrary, REWARDED those who brought KNOWN-false criminal charges against me.
On SC JMSC in 2011 was an “ethics” USC Law School professor who asked me point blank, “You’re saying they knew [that the charges were false]?’ and I answered “Absolutely!” But it was as if I were talking to a wall.
Each of at least two judicial candidates against whom I had complained later experienced a death of a close family member; and at least one SC JMSC staff attorney, Andy Fiffick, IV, who dismissed my later complaints later committed suicide though it was reported in lawyer-speak as “died unexpectedly.”
On 6 June 2016, I said to then-SC-Circuit-Court-Judge Lee, “It takes courage to live.”
I hope FITS lets this comment through so that powerful people’s children and grand-children see what courage is and perhaps use my example (and FITS’s if he lets this comment through) to choose life when figurative demons surround them.
Judge Benjamin’s brother was shot to death by a roommate in a Charlotte, NC, “female house.”
Retired SC Chief Justice Pleicones’ grandson took his own life.
Judge Clifton Newman’s son, Brian DeQuincy Newman, died before age 40 in Georgia. I have my doubts on whether the full truth on the cause of death was disclosed. But, as a general rule, deaths in previously-healthy persons at that age are due to unnatural causes or fully-preventable natural causes.
Brian Newman had given me the glassy eyes when he sat on Columbia’s City Council and I had shown them photos of the severe bruises to my wrists caused by Columbia’s Police Department’s (“CPD”) intentionally over-tightening handcuffs around my wrists in one of a series of KNOWN-false arrests of meant to silence my complaints against prior false arrests.
The veteran attorney father of now-SC-Chief-Justice Kittredge’s daughter’s boyfriend also committed suicide.
Senator Thurmond kept his REAL first-born daughter hidden throughout his life; and his DECLARED first-born daughter died in motor-vehicle versus pedestrian collision.
I do NOT worship a vengeful God who, for example, took Senator Thurmond’s first-born DECLARED daughter to punish his concealment of his REAL first-born daughter.
The God I worship, the God of the REAL Bible (if only people would read it for themselves) has everything, reward and punishment, BUILT-IN the biological and psychological structure of human beings.
Perhaps, if Senator Thurmond had the courage to have declared Essie Mae Thurmond Washington and publicly disowned the hypocrisy of his segregationist Essie Mae would have befriended her much younger sister and counseled away whatever troubled the latter and caused her absent-mindedness while crossing the street without noticing the drunk driver on that tragic night.
Perhaps if City Councilor Brian Newman had for a minute valued MY life and been troubled by the severe damage to my wrists, he would have valued his own life more and had the courage and self-discipline to eliminate whatever risk factors caused his early death.
Perhaps if DeAndrea Benjamin had the courage to say that what was being done to Dr. Marie Faltas is wrong, Brother Benjamin would have had the courage and self-discipline to move out of the female house whence his killer emerged.
Perhaps if Costa Pleicones had the courage and self-discipline to analyze the OBJECTIVE proof of 353 perjuries, forgeries, and fabrications, committed against me in my 22-26 February 2010 trial in Judge Clifton Newman’s court, the Pleicones grandson would have had the courage to overcome the figurative demons who drove him to suicide.
Same for Andy Fiffick, IV.
The two names in the above story, Shedd and Wooten, served in Senator Thurmond’s office before being elevated to federal judgeships.
Is it possible to believe that neither Shedd nor Wooten knew about Essie Mae when her hush money was being delivered by her cousin, the late Bankruptcy Judge Thurmond Bishop?
Can any one in good conscience claim that Shedd or Wooten would have been elevated to the federal bench if either had confronted Senator Thurmond about his hypocrisy?
Sitting SC Justice Few is no less a hypocrite and I want to file a complaint against his candidacy; but I fear it would be dismissed by the next Andy Fiffick.
To be continued, God so willing and FITS permitting.
Should be “Brother Gist,” not “Brother Benjamin,” as Gist is DeAndrea’s maiden name. I do not recall DeAndrea’s slain brother’s first name.
And I continue to pray that every one and their children and grandchildren chooses life no matter the challenge.
An excellent way to develop the instinct and courage to choose life is to value the lives of others, not their money.
But my comments are still to be continued, God so willing and FITS pemitting.
They tapped my phone without a warrant and everything electronic device that I had even had the nerve to tell me about text messages I sent from my phone now look how the tables have turned Karma is a Bitch….
With VERY few exceptions, EVERY lawyer and judge, law professor (whether full-time or adjunct), law-enforcement officer, and journalist, in South Carolina makes this equation in his/her mind: Since the life of Dr. Marie Faltas or of Richard Alexander Murdaugh (“RAM”) equals zero, then any side of the equation which IMMEDIATELY benefits me by even one cent weighs against ruling for, or representing, or protecting the life of, Dr. Marie Faltas or of RAM, even if justice and/or ethics were on the side of Dr. Marie Faltas or of RAM.
And I am realistic enough to know that I cannot “preach” anyone into putting even a one-cent value on MY life or on the life of RAM.
What I hope to do, God willing and FITS permitting, is to open those people’s minds to other considerations to place in the other side of the equation.
I often said and wrote (and “prove me wrong”) that someone you train to lie FOR you today will lie TO you tomorrow and will lie ABOUT you the day after. And, in the process of training others to lie FOR you, you forget how to tell YOURSELF the truth.
Half-truth and/or concealment of the truth ARE lies.
Strom Thurmond stayed in power long enough, and lived long enough, for his proteges to never learn the lesson of the-liar-you-train-today ….
But he lived long enough to see his DECLARED first-born daughter, Nancy Moore, die on a street she might not even have been on IF Thurmond’s REAL first-born daughter, Essie Mae, had been declared and legitimated and had befriended and counseled her much younger sister into, for example, not working as a waitress at night or not living with her boyfriend, but focusing entirely on her college courses instead.
Or perhaps Nancy Moore always knew of Essie Mae’s existence but was trained into if-you-ignore-inconvenient-truths-long-enough-they-cease-to-exist.
Perhaps that is why Nancy Moore could not see Corrine Koenig’s car speeding towards a jay-walking pedestrian.
Or perhaps Nancy Moore’s idea of courage was to ignore physical dangers. Or perhaps she wanted to die because no human being could carry the many burdens of volunteering in, and creating, so many public service organization but Nancy Moore thought she would be letting her parents down if she did not exceed the accomplishments of both of them put together.
Strom Thurmond had the PHYSICAL courage of volunteering for WW-II but not the MORAL courage of publicly acknowledging Essie Mae.
I have the moral courage of confronting SITTING jurists and other South Carolina officials but not the physical foolishness of ignoring the chest tightness brought about the recurring uncontrollable LITERAL nightmares which replay in various forms South Carolina’s so-called “justice system” stubborn refusal to protect me from my false accusers.
So, while I pray to live another day to share with my tormentors lessons and ideas that could improve their and their loved ones’ physical and moral lives, if this be my last message, let it be this: “The life you, by acts or omissions, took today could have saved yours or your loved ones’ tomorrow.”
God bless nonetheless.
Thank God, I lived another day and learned, through the FaceBook post of the truly sweet, smart and studious, Myra Catherine Crosby (aka “Juror 785” and “the egg juror”) that yesterday was 2025’s Universal Wives’ Day.
Coptic Orthodox Christians’ wedding invitations in my youth (before they regrettably moved from the spirituality of a Holy Sacrament into the worldliness of a banquet) usually opened by quoting Proverbs 31:10, the implication being the bridegroom was blessed to find a wife of noble character.
Because I still do not understand what American “conservativeness” means other than hating foreigners and because I was impressed by Mrs. Kirk’s reported public forgiveness of her husband’s assassin (I hope that means opposing the death penalty for ALL) and public gratitude to the Hindu Usha Chilukuri Vance’s comforting Mrs. Kirk after the tragedy, I quote the remainder of Proverbs 31 and ask the readers to consider that the Bible, in BOTH testaments, makes wisdom (proverbs 31:26) and kindness to the needy/stranger (Proverbs 31:10) basic practices of the believer:
Proverbs 31:10-31 (New International Version)
10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
A wife and a (twice?) former wife are among the competitors for South Carolina’s governorship. And I fear the competition will turn into an auction of who hates foreigners most. As a Catholic-educated convert to Christian Orthodoxy, my natural preference is for the one-husband-for-life woman.
But as a proud pure Egyptian, I always harken to the wisdom of Egypt’s Pharaoh who took a wrongly-incarcerated Joseph out of prison, listened to his ideas, and made him second in command over the entire land of Egypt to avert a coming famine.
Unlike arrogant WASPs and Salafis (who have much more in common with each other than either would ever admit) I do not view the Old Testament as a Hebrew invention or a series of fables and superstitions. Rather it is all perfectly consistent with modern knowledge of Biology and Ecology: Each of Pharaoh in his royal bed and Joseph on his prison hard floor worried about crop failures and/or cycles of draughts and deluges. And by accepting each other as equal humans, they helped each other invent grain storage which saved, not only Egypt, but also Israel, from the famine.
And they did not accomplish that by lazy lawyerly words but by energetic scientific works.
Joseph’s first use of his sudden awesome powers was to “go out to survey the Land of Egypt.” That is the first rule of Science: do NOT arm-chair speculate but OBSERVE and MEASURE.
I hope Hatchet-for-Hire Heather (Weiss) remembers and acknowledges that, after I had, thank God and WITHOUT A LAWYER, and in Judge Clifton Newman’s court no less, I had thwarted Hatchet-for-Hire Heather’s evil scheme to imprison me for 36 years (yes, thirty-six) on criminal charges she more than others KNEW to be FALSE, and we were, after 11:30 pm on Friday, 26 February 2010, retrieving our respective exhibits from the court reporter (there can be appeal where there was no conviction), I asked Hatchet-for-Hire Heather where do the court exhibits go. She gruffly responded “Do not talk to me.” I instinctively replied, “I will talk to you and I will love you.”
I did then love her as my enemy and still do.
But I do not YET forgive her.
In my theology, contrition of the wrong-doer is “a condition precedent” to forgiveness.
Nor, again in my theology, is the victim of the wrong-doer allowed to passively await the wrong-doer’s contrition. We are required, indeed that (still in my theology) is the promise we make to God in the Lord’s prayer, to bring the wrong-doer into contrition so we may forgive him/her.
And contrition is NOT mere words. It is actions. It is Zacchaeus’ refund of fourfold that of which he cheated others. It is the “making amends” of the 12-step program. It is the restitution and punitive damages of civil law.
I want Mrs. Kirk to go and PERSONALLY minister to her husband’s assassin.
And I want to Hatchet-for-Hire Heather to make amends to me by PUBLICLY disavowing her schemes to discredit me and MY intellect, an intellect which dazzled jurists to the point of stating ON TRANSCRIBED RECORDS how “amazed” they are at how “better than most lawyers” I am. I want Hatchet-for-Hire Heather to ACTIVELY campaign for my ideas of making crime investigations more scientific AT THE THRESHOLD and changing prison-pushing sentencing into preventive sentencing.
And I want the candidates for South Carolina’s governorship to read for themselves my 1992 “Cycle Breaker” welfare and medical care reform plan, which had then impressed Congressman Floyd Spence, Governor Campbell, and then-State-Senator Joe Wilson, among others, but was killed by the then-and-still-ruling DEI clan at USC just as Joseph’s brothers had conspired to kill him so his dreams would die with him. I want those candidates to let me explain to them how my plan is radically different from anything proposed before or since and how it is still possible and necessary today. I want those candidates to make it a race on who understands my ideas and runs with them fastest, not an auction on who hates foreigners most.
The time it takes for any candidate read this post is shorter than the time it takes to travel to a one-room campaign event.
And I pray that at least few of the seeds I sow land on fertile soil.
God bless the patient and the wise.