Ethics Investigation Targets Former S.C. Freedom Caucus Leader

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The former chairman of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus is the focus of an ongoing S.C. State Ethics Commission (SCSEC) investigation, multiple sources familiar with the status of the inquiry have confirmed to FITSNews.

Several of his political allies are also potentially in the crosshairs…

Former S.C. state representative Adam Morgan – who nearly ousted fourth-term congressman William Timmons last spring – is said to be the primary focus of the probe, which we have learned was launched last September in the aftermath of Timmons’ narrow victory over Morgan in the 2024 Republican primary election.

Timmons received 36,533 votes in the June primary – or 51.6% of all ballots cast. Morgan received 34,259 votes, or 48.4% of all ballots cast.

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According to multiple sources familiar with the contents of the complaint – which was reportedly filed by Timmons – Morgan stands accused of…

• Using campaign funds for purposes unrelated to the campaign or the office
• Excessive contributions to a legislative caucus committee
• Per se impermissible contribution from campaign funds to another candidate
• Excessive contribution to other candidates
• Failure to include all private income on Statements of Economic Interests

Beyond Morgan and the Freedom Caucus, the report reportedly singled out Ivory Tusk Consulting – a consulting firm run by embattled state representative RJ May III of West Columbia, S.C. May is currently the focus of an ongoing and unrelated federal criminal investigation into allegations involving alleged child pornography (or child sexual abuse material, “CSAM”).

According to our sources, Timmons’ complaint also named Innovative Communication Strategies – a consulting firm run by Columbia, S.C.-based political strategist Jon Parker. One of the allegations against Parker allegedly involved a December 2023 radio advertisement targeting Timmons and former U.S. congressman Jeff Duncan.

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State representative Alan Morgan – Adam Morgan’s brother – is named in the complaint, too, sources familiar with the document confirmed. He was accused by Timmons of receiving $1,500 from his brother’s S.C. State House campaign account even though he is not in the business of political consulting.

Or… is he?

According to Alan Morgan, not only has he worked on campaigns in the past… he actually worked on Timmons’ first campaign for this seat.

“The most outrageous part of this complaint is that it is being alleged that I have never worked for a campaign other than my brother’s,” he said. “Congressman Timmons knows for a fact that this is a lie, because the congressman himself hired me to work on his campaign during his runoff election in 2018! The congressman hired me because he knew I had a track record of success working on political campaigns, and the idea that he would blatantly lie about that fact to the ‘ethics’ board is beyond ironic.”

Adam Morgan was also accused by the congressman of routing nearly $9,000 to businesses he owns from his campaign account. The complaint also reportedly accused Adam Morgan of habitually failing to report income on his required statements of economic interest (SEIs) with the SCSEC.

It is not immediately clear when the complaint was filed, as Timmons’ political team refused to either confirm or deny the existence of the document. Similarly, it is the longstanding policy of the SCSEC neither to “confirm nor deny the existence of a complaint or investigation.”

Accordingly, there is no way of knowing the status of the investigation.

Moreover, FITSNews was informed there are “additional” names of current and former lawmakers contained in the document – although we have only published those names we could verify through our network of sources.

Adam Morgan was not immediately available to discuss the reported complaint, but certainly we look forward to providing everyone it implicated with an opportunity to respond to the allegations…

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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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