Another South Carolina political scandal has hit the national media …
S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster – whose front-running gubernatorial campaign has hit a major ethical speed bump – found himself on the receiving end of a scathing Wall Street Journal editorial Thursday.
The article, called “Suing In South Carolina,” refers to McMaster’s receipt of campaign contributions from lawyers he hired (with taxpayer funds) as a “sweetheart deal,” one that’s “rife with conflicts of interest.”
Here are the high points of the WSJ editorial …
In case anyone thought pay-to-play legal rackets were solely Democratic scandals, look to South Carolina, where Attorney General Henry McMaster is proving that Republicans can also get cozy with the plaintiffs bar …
.. In 1991, South Carolina passed a law specifically prohibiting individuals with no-bid state contracts from donating to officials in a position to act on those contracts. Mr. McMaster claims the law doesn’t apply to lawyers, despite clear language (“any person”) to the contrary. The judge in the case this month denied Lilly’s request to disqualify the private lawyers, so Mr. McMaster is claiming victory and refusing to return the money …
… as for Mr. McMaster, voters should consider what his pay-to-play schemes reveal about his political ethics.
Indeed.
Of course the real story, as far as we’re concerned, isn’t that McMaster took this money – it’s that he’s refusing to give it back.
What does that say about how reliant his campaign is on trial lawyer cash?
By K Trane October 1, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Fits, don’t you know that the “any person” standard does not apply to celebrities and politicians?
By Jonny D October 1, 2009 at 2:20 pm
In McMaster’s defense, he realized that he was way, way too dumb to handle the case against Lilly himself. And please take notice, anyone out there in an ownership or managerial position at a pig farm, I have your perfect candidate for shoveling some shit.
By Crush October 1, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Wes actually beat Will to the punch on this story. Rare, but it happened today.
By RedBank Bar October 1, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Let’s see, fitz has “documented” $7000 in “TRIAL LAWYER CASH” out of Henry’s total of ….what?…over $1M?
Yawn…..
By Patrick October 1, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Let will do some more digging. i’m told henry mac has more than 200K of these types of contributions. That should finish him off!
By Strom's Daughter October 1, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Henry McMaster is so-o-o-o dumb that he once proposed that Death Row inmates in South Carolina die via injections of the AIDS virus, “provided their gentials (sic) are checked for possible condoms.”
By shaggy October 1, 2009 at 9:30 pm
can mcmaster even read the wall street journal or does trey boy have to it him?
By Henry October 1, 2009 at 11:26 pm
A college classmate of McMaster told me, “Wait until the newspapers investigate his drug use in those days.”
What’s THAT all about?
Another Thomas Ravenel?
By McFailure October 1, 2009 at 11:59 pm
bye bye henry