“PANIC” SETS IN AT S.C. STATE HOUSE AS FEDERAL INVESTIGATION WIDENS …
By FITSNEWS || Federal agents investigating alleged corruption at the S.C. State House are reportedly zeroing in on a “major cash withdrawal” made from the bank account of the Palmetto Leadership Council – the political action committee affiliated with suspended S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell.
(To read our previous reports on this ongoing federal investigation, click HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and most recently HERE).
According to our sources, a “star witness” in the rapidly unfolding federal probe has provided investigators with information about this withdrawal, and is actually “pointing them in the direction of who to interview,” according to one lawmaker.
“(The witness) knows who Bobby was dealing with and who he was close with regarding his PAC,” the lawmaker added, noting that “the feds are trying to ask people if they have taken any cash because they don’t know what Bobby did with it.”
Hmmmm …
Sources close to Harrell – who was arraigned earlier this week on a nine count state corruption indictment – declined to comment on the cash withdrawal (or even confirm being questioned about it).
These sources also refused to comment on a rumor floated by one government watchdog who claims Harrell has been cooperating with the feds for several months and is “not the target” of the current investigation.
Wow …
Wouldn’t it be wild if the “hunted” was actually cooperating in the “hunt?”
Working alongside S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson and other state entities, federal investigators acting under the authority of U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles have been looking into allegations of corruption at the S.C. State House for the past nine months (at least). This investigation – which is expected to result in indictments prior to the end of the year – centers on three main areas. Those are, 1) misuse of campaign funds by members, 2) abusing public offices for personal gain and 3) vote-trading (or vote-selling) tied to the controversial February 2014 legislative election that saw Jean Toal win another term as chief justice of the state’s supreme court.
Other judicial elections may also be part of “the probe …”
Panic has set in at the S.C. State House in the wake of the investigation – with lawmakers canceling scheduled fundraisers in advance of their upcoming elections and lobbyists canceling scheduled meetings with lawmakers.
“Everyone is looking over their shoulder right now,” one lawmaker told FITS.
Good … that’s the way it should be all the time.
34 comments
I Remember back in the Lost Trust days when the first charges came out there were legislators looking over their shoulders then too. For a few weeks, anyway.. Good times.
This better not be an April Fools joke or some bad Troll Sic. Time to Burn it down. Too bad it took the Feds to do it.
Actually, doing federal time is much easier for them. Unless SC adopts minimum mandatory 5 years in a state prison there will be no changes in behavior…that is if you can get an Attorney General that will body slam his buddies into the ground and actually prosecute them.
I understand one of our convicted Legislators from the past had to serve Federal Time and is now collecting from an injury he received while doing time. I have heard this on several occasions and it may not be true.
You can get paid for getting your asshole stretched? There are several people here who are kicking themselves for not getting convicted.
Follow up question, How is it legal to get cash out of a PAC bank account? If you pull 10k out in cash in any account, the banks report that to the FBI and IRS. Not sure I buy it but he is one cocky SOB.
All kinds of services get paid out of that PAC. Hundred of thousands just for marketing for one project. That struck me as odd because I wasn’t aware of any advertisement.
“Too bad it took the Feds to do it.”
The way the Roberts Court has voted in regards to campaign cash and campaign contributions and whatnot I can’t imagine that they would find any of this illegal . . .
website non-existent http://www.palmettoleadershipcouncil.org what happened
Look and see
https://web.archive.org/web/20140101224255*/http://palmettoleadershipcouncil.org/
http://palmettoleadershipcouncil.org/ – Saved 24 times between February 1, 2005 and January 1, 2014.
Government of the people, for the people and by the people, my A$$!!!
Government of the corrupt politician, for the corrupt politician and by the corrupt politician!
The people, the servants, the taxpayer needs TERM LIMITS and RECALL AUTHORITY!
Ethics in this State is a sick joke perpetrated on the voters!!!
Support term limits and recall people, WAKE UP, AND DEMAND IT!!!!
WE DESERVE BETTER, MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really…?
SO ……WHAT are readers supposed to do with this article while tailgating at the ball park this weekend..?
We know Wil is better than a BRIAN HICKS re-tread article tactic..! Any network administrator at a certain bank knows this info.
Any network administrator sitting at a server terminal at a “telecon node” can sniff out the historical pyramid over the last DECADE..!
This is informational “posturing” and the only people being hunted are the NSA boys monitoring a “Shepherd’s PIE”…!!!
Wil……if you can not face up to explaining why YOU have not got an interview on tape and uploaded to Utube or Vimeo or Ustream with Tim Scott or LIndsey Graham or Jim Clyburn or Nikki Haley then how is your site “Maximizing Informational leverage”…?
You mean that Thomas Ravenel or Hutto or Sheheen will NOT sit down with you for 30 minutes a WEEK until election day..?
Heck…unleash Mande WIlkes…….or dare Liz Gunn to host an interview happy-hour ..!?
Good Lord…..
Bobby Harrell is no one’s fool. There are many twist and turns before this is all over, and I believe the focus of the investigation is much wider than many believe.
I know, for a fact, that someone unrelated to any of this was interviewed by the Feds. He believed he was going to answer questions about one thing, and it was a different issue.
It is going to be very interesting.
Do tell. TIA.
Almost made me nut on that. Hope it’s like ” Lost Trust ” but even better. Maybe they will include SLED.
Ok…so they get a prison camp sentence and no 100k fines. Big deal. Unless you attach minimum mandatory sentencing at 7 years and up, there will be no changes in behavior.
Wait, I thought voting would fix everything?
“This investigation – which is expected to result in indictments prior to the end of the year”
Merry Christmas, South Carolina!
All I want for x-mas, is NIMRATA gone!
A “perp walk” would be nice.
burn ’em all down
Thy might also want to do some checking into the Original Six Foundation. Why is the contact ph. # for the foundation a land-line based in Bamberg?
His PAC throws money at everything he wants. I heard he paid a Facebook group 30k over one project. Seems reasonable the investigation would be targeting slush funds. Wait and see. If Fits is right on this it will add a lot of credibility.
Money laundering.
You see, the big dogs in Charleston are going down, down, down ….. The old pay to play …. to get money from the tax payers kiddle …. Beach Company go bye bye, too?
Heh heh.
Only thing that could purge our state of evil is Jean Toal being brought down and exposed.
Toal is addicted to the power. She doesn’t need the money. She inherited plenty.Bill Nettles has been able to protect her from Fed investigations for years – and it is harder to prove when the politician is not chasing money, but power. s Surely, the Feds can see through her this time.
http://www.thestate.com/2014/10/03/3722874_exclusive-investigators-looking.html?sp=/99/205/&rh=1
EXCLUSIVE: Investigators looking into allegations of illegal State House vote swapping – Toal suspected of criminal activity? FBI has text, email messages, recorded phone calls, recording from hot mics and other snooping devices? How far back did they start all of this probing? Summer of 2012? 2011? or maybe even 2009???? We know they sometimes will lay back and just watch from afar and the shadow for years before they start actually appearing with questions presented to suspect, right?
State Farm paying Harrell’s $79,000-a-year property insurance employee with PAC money Harrell controls is still my favorite crime.
That guy has probably already sung like a bird and flies around Harrell’s office knowing that he ratted on Harrell to state and federal investigators.
Let’s call him STATE FARM BIRD MAN (SFBM).
And Harrell worrying about whether SFBM has ratted on him.
What about the grand strand delegation??
Most “news” I see on TV or read is “bad” and this is great relief. The Jean Toal re-election was a farce — one could practically HEAR Harrell breaking the arms of other legislators for his own benefit. There IS no justice in South Carolina. BOTH our legislature and judiciary are corrupt I hope the feds also indict Toal.
They need to install a public bath on the State House Grounds.
That way, SC Citizens could wipe the smell off of themselves when leaving, after having had to be around some of these crooks.
These bums are stinking up the place and making credibility very hard for the good representatives that still are working hard for SC Citizens.
Every day this is posted is sheer torture to those who unlawfully took advantage of their sacred positions of trust. I hope their days are long and lonely.