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The last two U.S. presidents have had a difficult time deciding who should serve as top prosecutor for the state of South Carolina – with political proxy wars causing extensive delays in filling this key appointment.
The U.S. attorney for the Palmetto State is a critical position – and a powerful one. The office oversees all federal prosecutions within the district of South Carolina – which of late has included some very high-profile cases. In addition to working with numerous federal law enforcement agencies, the office must also liaison with state and local law enforcement – and state and local prosecutors.
After he was first elected president in 2016, Donald Trump struggled to fill this seat – which requires the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. Or, more accurately, warring “Republicans” in the Palmetto State refused to budge on their preferred picks. A lengthy proxy war ensued – which prevented attorney Sherri Lydon from assuming the office until May 2018, nearly a year-and-a-half after Trump was sworn in. This news outlet praised Lydon’s work, but she wasn’t on the job for very long – with Trump tapping her for a federal judgeship a little more than a year later. Lydon took her place on the federal bench in December 2019 and former S.C. House judiciary chairman Peter McCoy followed her into office – serving from April 2020 until February of the following year.
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Democrats are typically better at wielding power than the GOP, but they struggled mightily to fill this position, too. As FITSNews reported at the time, former president Joe Biden‘s first choice for this seat was S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe. Unfortunately for Pascoe, his nomination was blocked by U.S. senator Lindsey Graham. Former S.C. House minority leader James Smith thereafter emerged as a favored candidate for the post, but he was dogged by his proximity to a 2018 scandal involving improper contracts he received from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Eventually, the job fell to Adair Ford Boroughs – who wasn’t sworn in until July 2022, a full year-and-a-half after Biden took office.
This time was supposed to be different… and initially, it appeared as though it would be. Sources close to the selection process confirmed Trump had settled on Columbia, S.C. attorney Debbie Barbier – a former federal prosecutor who briefly advised him following the disputed 2020 election.
Barbier passed on the job, though.
Speculation quickly shifted to Bryan Stirling, director of the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC) – who was high on Trump’s list for this position the last time he served as president. According to our sources, Stirling has been encouraged to seek the post this go-round as well – and is viewed as one of the frontrunners for the position.
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RELATED | WHO WILL BE TOP PROSECUTOR?
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Along with Stirling, attorney Matt Austin of Charleston, S.C. is well-positioned to get the job if he wants it. In addition to being a former federal prosecutor, Austin is the son-in-law of former U.S. attorney Bart Daniel – a well-connected Lowcountry lawyer who enjoys an especially close relationship with Graham.
Other names we continue to hear in connection with the imminent opening are assistant U.S. attorney Elliott Daniels and Alyssa Richardson, a Columbia attorney who formerly served as deputy chief of staff to U.S. senator Tim Scott.
S.C. House ethics committee chairman Jay Jordan is also in contention for the job, while we’re hearing governor Henry McMaster – who inexplicably wields significant influence with the White House – could try to install one of his in-house counsels to the position. McMaster previously served as U.S. attorney for South Carolina from June 1981 to July 1985 under Ronald Reagan.
While we await Trump’s decision on who will fill this post on a permanent basis, U.S. congressman William Timmons is pushing the administration to move swiftly on the installation of “interim U.S. attorneys that are like-minded with the new administration across all 94 districts.”
“President Trump was given a mandate to root out the rot from our weaponized, two-tiered justice system, and that requires a clean slate,” Timmons wrote on X last week.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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3 comments
How is this article any different from the one that ran on 12/9/24 about the same topic? Get some new material.
If I was one of the lifers that had gotten so comfortable under Adair, I’d be shaking in my boots and looking for new work. How many assistant US attorneys that get along really well with liberal Democrats do we need running around the office?
Also, there is concern surrounding this office about light sentences given and time served sentences given to defendants that were previously represented by Atty David Aylor. Is there something being covered up to protect that close knit and well-connected community.