BUT WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM? ANY WHY?
The dramatic unspooling of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson gained fresh momentum this week …
Once regarded as an Eliot Ness-style crusader against public corruption, Wilson has been unmasked over the last ten days as the antithesis of everything he claimed to stand for. Seriously … this guy built himself up as a white hat-wearing hero who would stop at nothing to pursue justice, not do everything in his power to block it.
Anyway … we’ve been all over Wilson for his treachery in attempting to shut down a criminal investigation into corruption at the S.C. State House. Hell, everybody has.
(Well, almost everybody).
This week’s big story has revolved around efforts by Wilson and his closest neo-Confederates to turn the narrative of this mushrooming scandal into a partisan pissing match – as opposed to a battle over the law (which is what it is). Of course the ham-fisted efforts of Wilson and his allies to turn the scandal “political” have only highlighted their desperation … and their hypocrisy.
Nobody’s buying what they’re selling …
Of course the intrigue over the attempted politicization of the case has led to all sorts of speculation regarding the source of various leaks – notably text message and email correspondence between S.C. “Republican” party chairman Matt Moore and Adam Piper, a taxpayer-funded political operative working in Wilson’s office.
Piper attempted (unsuccessfully) to get Moore to weigh in on the scandal – and the text messages and emails the two politicos exchanged somehow wound up in the hands of The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier and The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper.
The result? The most illuminating leak of private political correspondence since the great “Nikki Haley affair texts” of 2010.
So … what happened?
Well, there are two competing theories. The first explanation is the simplest: Moore leaked the information.
According to this narrative, the 33-year-old state party chairman – who has been very friendly with Wilson’s Palmetto State political antagonists – exposed Piper’s amateur hour messages as a way of compounding the damage done to Wilson by the obstruction scandal.
Why would he do that?
Good question … there’s very limited upside to Moore getting involved in this particular fray, no matter how closely tied he is to the political empire of veteran “Republican” consultant/ lobbyist J. Warren Tompkins.
One Moore supporter told us the chairman had “zero incentive to get involved in this mess.”
“They are hanging themselves,” the source said, referring to Wilson and his political allies, most of whom are affiliated with the political empire of Richard Quinn. “They don’t need any help.”
Another theory? That this entire scandal has its roots within Quinn’s empire – known in Palmetto political circles as “the Quinndom.”
Sources familiar with the leaks tell us a former Quinn operative named Trey Walker – who is now a lobbyist with S.C. BlueCross BlueShield – was so upset by Moore’s decision not to assist Wilson that he compiled screenshots of Moore’s various text messages in a Microsoft Word document. This document was then emailed to an undisclosed list of recipients.
Walker’s ostensible goal? To get others to ramp up the pressure on Moore.
Those efforts failed … but Walker’s document is reportedly what wound up getting leaked to the media.
Walker’s involvement in the scandal is very interesting. After all, he’s a longtime political ally of S.C. lieutenant governor Henry McMaster – who has (judging by appearances) been one of Wilson’s few supporters during this ongoing scandal.
Remember, though … as we noted in this story McMaster and Wilson are (or were) competing for establishment GOP support in the race for governor of South Carolina in 2018. In fact Walker was reportedly involved in a major dust-up with S.C. Rep. Rick Quinn (Richard Quinn’s son) last year over whether McMaster or Wilson was going to receive the support of the “Quinndom” in 2018.
With Wilson’s career on a Titanic trajectory, a path has now been cleared for McMaster to gain that establishment support.
So … who do we think leaked the information?
We don’t know … but the answer doesn’t solve the bigger riddle of why Wilson chose to obliterate his political future by trying to obstruct this investigation in the first place.
24 comments
“…known in Palmetto political circles as “the Quinndom.”…”
Fast becoming known as “the Queefdom”
Fuckin’ Pussy Cockroaches
“Sources familiar with the leaks….”
——————————————————-
James A. Wells, Assistant U.S. Attorney General: “You had a leak? You call what’s goin’ on around here a leak? Boy, the last time there was a leak like this, Noah built hisself a boat.”
James A. Wells, Assistant U.S. Attorney General: Tell you what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna sit right here and talk about it. Now if you get tired of talking here, Mr. Marshal Elving Patrick there will hand you one of them subpoenas he’s got stuck down in his pocket and we’ll go downstairs and talk in front of the grand jury…….. Elliot? …. Jim?………. Fine. All right, Elving, hand whichever one of these fellas you like a subpoena and we’ll go on downstairs and talk in front of the grand jury.
District Attorney James A. Quinn: Gallagher’s a government witness.
James A. Wells, Assistant U.S. Attorney General: Wonderful thing, a subpoena.
———————————————————————————
Attorney General Wells(Wilford Brimley) in “Absence of Malice” staring Sally Field and Paul Newman, 1981.
You are one of those useless, pompous, self righteous assholes who must inject their opinion in every matter regardless of how stupid, off point and inane it may be.
It’s better to keep your mouth shut and let others assume that you are a blathering fool than to open your mouth and confirm that you are.
Au contraire, people love me. Some even have screen names that are a play on my screen name. I admit some of the love I’m getting is anal in nature.
Yeah, you definitely strike me as the type that’s into anal!
I guess that explains your interest in me. That’s flattering, but unfortunately you’d be disappointed.
You prefer pederasty, I prefer women. I despise stupid trolls who think they know everything and try to impress others with their limited, factually incorrect and slanted opinions.
I am done wasting my time with you, shitstain.
I despise stupid trolls too. You can take that personally, if you like.
Ha!…..you wish, you pathetic, no account loser! Obviously, you have.
As you say above,”you prefer women”. It’s good considering your limited opportunities with women that you don’t exclude other options.
Maybe you shouldshould get out your mom’s basement, leave the young boys alone and try a woman.
The Matt More/ Adam Piper text messages were G- chats (or whatever they call their service). They were one to one—meaning no one but the two of them were in on those hates. Clearly, Moore leaked them.
Reading is fundamental, Jan. The article clearly states that Trey Walker created a Word document containing the messages and sent the same to several recipients, anyone of whom could have leaked the information.
Yes, the article said thats but it may or may not be true.
Also, either Walker hacked the account which is unlikely or someone gave the messages to him. It is not likely to have been Piper. That leaves Moore.
Tsk,tsk,tsk…..it clear, my dear, that you have a problem with Matt Moore. Your so called “logic” is as clear as mud.
Oh well, I guess it’s true….you can’t fix stupid!
How unsuitable for adulthood you are.
I think you’re on to something, but I don’t blame Moore. Better it comes out now. If a smear campaign is launched against Pascoe, Matt wants to be clear from the blow back. If the emails came out later it might look bad.
How unsuitable you are to participate in a forum where reasoned thought and some degree of logic is required.
Alan rebutted on Tuesday…well at least my pappy Joe was in
the know and wasn’t found to be lying
You know—he didn’t stab SC conservatives by sticking his
head up RINOs Boehner and Paul Ryan
And at least he said Hell no we won’t rip down the flag of patriots
by NOT letting YOU get to vote
And he didn’t give the most incompetent presiDENT in history
fast-track and try to make you a goat
Yep…he and mammy refused that taxpayer-PAID vacation to
Hawaii—their most modest move to date
And of course we KNOW you’ll be slow and reelect Joe and me
the next chance you get…NO…WAIT !!!
Damn! My distant, wayward cousin, J. Warren Tompkins, all up in some majorly corrupt shit, ah-geyn. HE is the bad seed, fah sho.
You must have your family reunions at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center?
Just give all these godamn politicians the keys to your houses its obvious they can do whatever they want in this state. The laws dont mean shit to these assholes.
You can’t make this shit up. Piper should be arrested.
I dont understand this story. Headlines say “attempted smear” but the suggestion was to “reveal” Pascoe was a Democrat and friend of Harpo. I don’t see either of those as a smear, or untruthful.
I know the zealots will speak nonsense to this post but really, where is the smear? I am not endorsing the email, but man, worse than this goes on everyday.
There seems another, hidden agenda at work, and I don’t know what that is.