U.S. CONGRESSMEN ALLEGEDLY LINKED TO STATE HOUSE PROBE
At least one sitting United States congressman is reportedly connected to the ongoing federal-state investigation into corruption at the S.C. State House … which would mean the corruption (and the probe) extends much further than anyone originally suspected.
It would also mean the fate of the investigation wouldn’t rest exclusively with state government … which is notorious for whitewashing scandals involving powerful elected officials.
This website’s network of sources – who have helped us break open several additional facets of this investigation in recent days (here, here and here) – tell us the involvement of these federal elected officials is what initiated the involvement of the U.S. Attorney’s office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the “probe.”
That interaction is ongoing … and has extended to include questioning of various state officials (including those mentioned in a preliminary December 2013 investigative report). In fact, federal agents are said to have questioned former S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell as recently as last summer regarding these state officials.
They have also reportedly tapped the phones of multiple individuals linked to the state investigation – and obtained their personal email messages.
To what end? It’s not immediately clear … but it’s abundantly clear there is much more to this investigation than what was included in the preliminary report prepared by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) more than two years ago.
Harrell was the first elected official to go down in connection with the probe – which was exclusively uncovered by this website back in September 2014. He pleaded guilty to six ethics-related counts, resigned his office and got three years of probation in connection with the case.
Harrell’s prosecution was handled by S.C. first solicitor David Pascoe after the state’s attorney general – Alan Wilson – recused himself in August of 2014 citing undisclosed conflicts. In 2015, Wilson recused himself again in connection to the ongoing investigation … again citing undisclosed conflicts, and again designating Pascoe to oversee the prosecutions.
Now, Wilson is obstructing Pascoe’s attempt to empanel a grand jury and issue additional indictments in the case – even though Pascoe’s efforts have been endorsed by the head of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the circuit court judge overseeing the case.
Not only that, Wilson’s office has been busted in clumsy attempts to politicize the case and Wilson has baselessly attacked Pascoe’s integrity.
What’s behind all of this? Most believe Wilson is acting in defense of powerful S.C. Rep. Rick Quinn and his the father, influential “Republican” neo-Confederate consultant Richard Quinn. Both Quinns were mentioned in the redacted sections of the 2013 report – however it took more than two years for that information to become public.
A decision by the S.C. Supreme Court is expected soon regarding Wilson’s legal battle with Pascoe. That decision which will either allow the latter’s investigation to proceed – or it will empower Wilson to appoint another prosecutor (something he attempted to do two weeks ago).
Hopefully the court will rule in Pascoe’s favor … but if it doesn’t, we are glad to hear that the federal component of this investigation is ongoing. We’re even more encouraged to know that federal investigators are continuing to probe the state officials associated with this scandal – even if that’s not what originally spurred their involvement in the case.