RHETORIC RAMPS UP IN HIGH-PROFILE PALMETTO POLITICAL SPAT …
A former political aide to S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell – who several sources say remains on the powerful politician’s payroll – is helping orchestrate a smear campaign against S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson.
And he wants “blood.”
It’s all part of the ongoing war between Wilson and Harrell over the latter’s public corruption case.
Quick recap: Beginning in 2012, Harrell was busted improperly reimbursing himself from his campaign account for dubious flight-related expenses (Harrell is a pilot). How much? More than $325,000.
He also stands accused of applying improper pressure on the S.C. Pharmacy Board and the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (SCLLR) on behalf of his pharmaceutical business – using his official letterhead, no less. Additionally, Harrell’s political action committee is under scrutiny for allegedly misappropriating and misreporting funds – including an effort to force taxpayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars on an unnecessary transportation project.
Harrell is guilty as sin: In fact he’s effectively admitted his guilt on the first count by returning $23,000 of his dubious reimbursements.
He’s also responded like a criminal – lying and refusing to release his records, assassinating the character of one of the reporters who investigated him and then strong-arming her newspaper into backing down (by allegedly threatening to withhold an annual bribe the paper receives from the S.C. General Assembly).
Three months ago, Wilson referred Harrell’s case to a statewide grand jury – sparking a blood feud between the two politicians.
How bad have things gotten?
Bad …
Chris Slick – a strategist with the Greenville, S.C.-based Felkel Group – is a former operative for the S.C. House Republican Caucus, an organization which is controlled by Harrell. He was forced to resign from that post last year after an alcohol-related incident, but his unswerving loyalty to Harrell has reportedly kept him in the Speaker’s good graces – not to mention gainfully employed as a political consultant.
According to multiple sources familiar with Harrell’s operations, Slick is one of the masterminds behind a full-frontal web assault on Wilson – one that’s being spearheaded by a trio of new political blogs (GOPWrite.com, Between the Chambers and Holy City Politics).
All three websites have featured aggressively pro-Harrell articles – as well as “hit pieces” on Wilson.
Slick has denied having any involvement with the websites – and has denied doing any work on Harrell’s behalf since resigning from the House Caucus.
However sources familiar with all three sites say Slick is one of the individuals feeding them “tips” on a regular basis.
Then there are Slick’s own statements on the matter, preserved in a text message exchange obtained by FITS.
“It’s personal,” Slick writes of Harrell’s war with Wilson. “Sh*t changes when it’s personal.”
As for Wilson himself, Slick writes “I want his ass on a stick. For all to see. He’s (sic) could have stopped this. Karma is a big bitch.”
In another message, Slick writes “Wilson and others will be punished for what they did.”
“Time for payback,” Slick writes. “And we’ve been waiting a long time for it.”
“Now I want blood,” another message from Slick reads …
Take a look …
(Click to enlarge)
Wow …
We haven’t seen chatter quite like that since this website’s founding editor released the infamous text messages related to his 2007 affair with then-S.C. Rep. Nikki Haley.
Slick refused to comment on the text messages – which were reportedly sent on March 21 of this year. Meanwhile a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office wasn’t immediately available to respond to them.
So … what’s next in this saga?
Well, this week S.C. circuit court judge Casey Manning is expected to rule on a motion made by Harrell’s attorneys to remove Wilson as the lead prosecutor in the case. According to our sources, Manning is likely to throw the entire matter back to the notoriously corrupt S.C. House Ethics Committee – arguing the circuit court system has no jurisdiction over Harrell’s ethical abuses.
This would be consistent with his ruling in the 2012 corruption case of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley – whose many sins received a nice whitewashing courtesy of her former colleagues in the S.C. House after they were removed from the circuit court system.
If Manning does ship the case back to the S.C. House – it would likely be at the request of corrupt S.C. Chief Justice Jean Toal, who was reelected to her post earlier this year thanks to an aggressive lobbing effort led by Harrell.
The beat goes on, right?
Right …
75 comments
Wait… there’s corruption in South Carolina?
NAAAW who’d a thunk it. HAHAHAHAHAHA I think we have finally found something to agree on.
A politico named “Slick”
Don’t git no better than that!
Plus he looks like Tom Delay’s smarmy little brother. And he appears to have an inflated sense of importance.
VERY inflated
Looks like Harvey Peeler. Evidently amoral, vindictive, low life like him too.
Don’t know if this is typical Fitsnews lies or not, but the irony and ridiculousness of Will Folks calling someone out for being paid to post on his blog is HILARIOUS!!!!!
TBG gives a slight edge to “Tricky Dick” over “Slick Willie” in political nicknames.
Could just be dementia nostalgia….
EVERYTHING was better back then!!!
*Shakes cane at sky*
Wilson’s detractors have yet to show that he’s looked the other way when it comes to allegations against a campaign donor or that he’s used campaign funds for personal use. Harrell on the other hand has used his power to directly enrich himself and his good old boys. He needs to be taken down first.
Probably should’ve blocked out the dude’s phone number. Probably.
Dude’s going to get a ton of phone calls inquiring about his refrigerator, a certain prince being stuck in a can, and whether he is acquainted with some fellow named Michael Hunt.
We’re not in the business of protecting people from the consequences of their hubris.
The text messages sound familiar. Could be “guest”?
Uhhhhhhh…no, I’m not going there. You’ve been good this week… ;-)
So did you call him yet?
Did you mean this one? 1-843-607-3557
Slick is also very pro Lindsey Graham. Something about birds of a feather —–.
As one of the two REAL Republicans that went to Allen and helped persuade him to run for AG in the first place my loyalty will remain with our outstanding AG.
Just asking: How does FitsNews get access to Slick’s text messages?
Someone has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do.
Those are screen shots from the phone. Whoever made the screen shots had physical access to the device, also the screen shots came from the phone of the person that Slick was texting.
The NSA gave it to him. Ask Linsey if you don’t believe me.
Penis envy. The Midlands is on the rise.
Oh, yeah. Let’s let the City of Columbia and Richland County Delegation take control of things. That will be better.
Gov Benjamin and Sen Darrell Jackson will make the Midlands whole…and their Lexington County White Posse will pick the money tree clean. The Midlands will be the center of SC’s universe for fifty years starting in 2018.
Don’t forget about Harrell’s use of campaign funds to pay a marketing firm – for pushing his 3/4 billion, 7.9 mile developers highway on state taxpayers.
Sic Willie had an affair with Nikki Haley in 2007? Surely someone would have published a book with the details by now.
+2 on that one, man. ;)
Slick isn’t too slick – he should be careful who he texts with.
Believe me he is not.
Maybe it’s one of “dem dare deals”, like when folks call TBG, “Slim”.
People call me Jim.
Slick doesn’t appear to be very slick as he would keep his hatred close to his vest. Payback can be a very expensive bitch.
Why has nobody mentioned that he exposed a major problem with the AG’s disclosures? It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t like the AG or not. What matters is that the AG has had, according to the P&C, about $75,000 in over the limit contributions. If it wasn’t for this the AG would have gotten away with it!
Ok Chris
From the P&C and The State… You can’t say those are hit pieces…
“S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson racks up campaign finance irregularities” http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140404/PC1603/140409632/sc-attorney-general-alan-wilson-racks-up-campaign-finance-irregularities
“EXCLUSIVE: SC governor, AG candidates collected excess campaign cash”
http://www.thestate.com/2014/04/05/3370255/exclusive-sc-governor-ag-candidates.html?sp=/99/132/312/169/#storylink=cpy
Yeah dumb ass. Who broke that story? We did -> https://www.fitsnews.com/2014/03/25/attorney-generals-financial-mess-quinn-policy/
Wasn’t your only source, his self reporting?
Are you Boz Martin? :-)
So do you kiss Bobby on the mouth or on the ass?
Maybe someone should ask his blog buddy what she thinks about his flub, the executive director of the Palmetto Leadership Council.
Maybe Someone should ask Ashley Landess what she thinks about the AG’s problems….
Why would anyone ask her about the AG’s problems when it doesn’t pertain directly to this story. It is about Chris Slick, the asstard that continually makes mistakes for the people he represents and his whip cracker…….India Null Hazzard. How many passes would you like you self entitled, self endulged ass hat?
Sir, what do you think about the executive director of the PLC?, do you think for example of a ‘three-toed sloth?’, or is that being kind. You seem to be a well informed individual given you got the goods. And, I am a believer that you do have the goods, and the source, friend. All this reminds me of the lyrics of a Talking Heads song, ‘soft violins, hands touch your throat, everyone wants to explode…..now when your hands get dirty, nobody knows you at all, don’t have a window to slip out of, lights on, nobody home,’ friend.
“Thank you for being a friend, travel down the road and back again. Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant.”
“S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson racks up campaign finance irregularities”
Alan Wilson has accepted about $75,000 in over-the-legal-limit contributions from at least 32 donors.
A Post and Courier review of Attorney General Alan Wilson’s public campaign finance disclosure reports also has found that since 2009 the attorney general has accepted at least 105 contributions worth about $88,000 that were not initially disclosed on quarterly campaign finance disclosure forms – about $20,000 more than he has previously acknowledged.
The attorney general Alan Wilson has amended campaign finance reports so many times that one critic called the number of changes “unprecedented” in modern South Carolina politics.
SC AG Alan Wilson’s infractions could carry fines up to 500 times the value of an individual contribution and jail time.
Alan Wilson has admitted to problems with his campaign finance filings but never fully disclosed totals. His campaign has filed dozens of amendments to the State Ethics Commission website to correct issues.
For a table of Alan Wilson’s recently disclosed contributions and over-the-limit contributors, go topostandcourier.com/wilson-co….
Alan Wilson’s Over-the-limit contributions
Contributor Amount over legal limit
Ace Cash Express ……………….$500
Ashley M Hoefer……………………$3000
Augusta Fiberglass Coatings….$3500
Ben Harrison……………………….$1500
Betty Willoughby………………….$3500
CashAmerica………………………$4500
Core-B Inc………………………….$6000
Danny Smith………………………$1500
Donald Coggins………………….$1000
Football Paper LTD Co………..$2000
Fund for American Opportunity…$3500
Hall & Bowers…………………………$3500
J Mark Lawhon………………………..$3500
JM Family Enterprises……………..$3500
John McIntosh………………………..$1000
Kathryn Williams Attorney at Law…$1000
Kirkpatrick Morgan Jr………………$1500
Lorillard…………………………………$1500
Marshall Carithers……………………$500
McKay Cauthen Settana & Stubley $1000
Mitchell Willoughby………………….$3500
Palmetto Alarm………………………$2000
Randy Lowell…………………………$3500
Richard J. Breibart…………………$3500
Ruan Westraad………………………$500
Select Management Resources $500
Smith Medical ASD………………….$500
The Law Office of Richard J Breibart…….$3500
Titlemax……………………………….$3500
Tom J. Ervin…………………………$3500
USAA ………………………………… $3500
Francie Biggs ………………………$1000
TOTAL Amount over legal limit $76,500
Payday loan companies, title loan companies a disgraced attorney and his law firm, some one with the last name Hoefer, which is the current Empress of South Carolina’s maiden name. Looks legit.
The Hoefer is Jean Toal’s first cousin’s wife. Ashley Hoefer is married to John Hoefer. He represents his siblings and Jean represents her when they divide family money each year. They are tight. John Hoefer’s law partner is Mitch Willoughby….. good, close sources say that Willoughby and Hoefer are mad as hell this morning they were mentioned on an earlier post on this story.
Mitch Willoughby recently got Eckstrom off from his ethics violations. Also gave him $3500.
Will Rogers wrote “make crime pay … become a lawyer”
John McIntosh is Wilson’s Chief of Staff and a veteran prosecutor (state and federal.) Of all people, I would think McIntosh would know if he had exceeded the limit.
hmmmmmm hows India? lol
Who cares.
April 10 Quarterly Report Types due tomorrow.
Post and Courier will be on it, no doubt. Lets see how many more “scriveners’ errors” Wilson will have now.
105 undiclosed contributions uh uh uh …SCRIVENERS ERROR!
32 over the limit contributions uh uh uh …SCRIVENERS ERROR!
Will somebody please get Mr. Scrivener on the phone? Hello? …..Hello? ….. Hello? uh …Mr. Scrivener are you there? …Are you there? …..Mr. Scrivener ….uh uh uh …WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ………… WHAAAAAAT ARRRRRE YOOOU DOOOOING MR. SCRIVENER!
I guess someone didn’t want any publicity…
betweenthechambers.wordpress.com is no longer available.
The authors have deleted this site.
That site has been gone for a few weeks now. Don’t know why it was even listed.
If you don’t have a problem with the us supreme court eliminating the aggregate cap on political donations because they feel it’s necessary that the rich have the right to speak freely at levels way above and beyond that an average working American can; if you believe that public money should go to private schools, why do you have a problem with the tax break that newspapers get for newsprint?
How about the tax break that the internet gets?
Only if you agree that every day, millions of union members have money taken from their paychecks to support some union presidents’ political agenda. In 1996, Rutgers economics professor Leo Troy estimated that union political expenditures totaled about $500 million in each election cycle. More recently, the National Institute for Labor Relations Research estimated that total union political expenditures reached $925 million in the 2004 cycle. Over time, this has added up: According to The Center for Responsive Politics, eight of the top ten all-time political contributors are labor unions. Not one red cent went to Republicans.
Harrell can not produce enough authentic records to justify $323,000.00. Many of the records he does have are fake and forged. Harrell knows if the state grand jury investigates, they will uncover many felonies he committed. There is no other reason on this earth for him and his cronies to be ( and his two lawyers are doing it by proxy ) slinging mud, that obviously does not stick to anything. That obviously sinks Harrell further into the pits of despair. Harrell knows he will be indicted and found guilty by a jury of twelve for multiply felonies. Judge Manning take warning ….. You do not want to go down with the Harrell ship. You best stand down and not jeopardize your own liberties and freedom. If his case is thrown out under the gist the court of general sessions has no jurisdiction in Harrell’s crime, YOU – Judge Manning – will end up on the wrong side of the law in the US District Court. Nothing can, nor will, block that from happening. Nothing at all. So go right ahead, make We The People’s day, old man. You will be made an example out of.
The Empress is running this one. She controls the feds in these parts too. Manning has no choice but to follow orders from The Empress Herself.
The FBI in South Carolina…… Hahahahahahaha. Not unless Toal tells Nettles it is okay for them to take her coffee – or whatever – to her now. She owns Nettles, folks and Folks. The DOJ “respects Nettles’ judgement” on what to investigate and what not to investigate is what I was told. Recognize it.
Bullshit.
Slick is making threats of physical harm and death on the SC Attorney General. Those text’s are enough for both a SLED and an FBI investigation to be opened.
Wishful thinking, scooter
Good Lord, dude! Take a breath! It’s called hyperbole, sarcasm, humor…choose your own descriptive term, but these types of comments are very seldom (if ever) prosecuted. Those expressions (“wanting blood,” etc.) are pretty hackneyed, and even a first year attorney out of CSOL or USC could beat that back with a ten pound bag of case law…
A GOPer fight has to be as fun to watch as a bum fight or girl fight. (Though this being SC a dog fight or cock fight would likely win the draw.)
.
At least no innocents will be hurt.
I would rather have a Chris Slick out there – where we know what he thinks and what he is doing than a James Smith mealy mouthing all that bs about honesty, integrity and transparency in Richland County when he is just allowing the corrupt bandits to run wild.
LOL, this is laughable. Honesty and Integrity? Knows what he is doing? He obviously is a bratty child that is upset he cannot live his life in the open.
Is he a closeted gay?
Sounds alot like you!
Laughable, Slick knows what he thinks? He is so angry that he has to live his life behind a door that he attacks others to compensate.
Looks like it’s time for the AG’s office to have a little traffic jam. Oh, wait, wrong state…
+10
No love lost for either Harrell or Wilson. Two of a kind.
So what does central casting offer him up as? Young Boss Hogg?