Scandal-Scarred S.C. Senator Received Personal Loan From Powerful Trial Lawyer

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by WILL FOLKS

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One of South Carolina’s most powerful and politically connected trial lawyers has quietly extended a loan to a state senator embroiled in a nasty divorce – one caused by an affair the senator had with a political operative tied to the nefarious trial lawyer lobby.

Peter Protopapas – a Columbia, S.C. attorney and member of the state’s much-maligned Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) – confirmed he extended a “small loan” to embattled S.C. senator Matt Leber earlier this year.

“Many months ago, I gave a friend a small loan with a repayment schedule that included interest — something I’ve done with several friends before,” Protopapas said in a statement provided to FITSNews. “How those funds were used is not relevant or important to me.”

Maybe it’s not relevant or important to Protopapas, but with his industry flagrantly purchasing influence at the S.C. State House to maintain its corrupt status quo… it should be relevant and important to South Carolinians.

A spokeswoman for Protopapas declined to provide details on the amount of the loan, its interest rate, its repayment schedule or any other terms of the note. As for Leber, he did not immediately respond to a request from this media outlet for comment about the loan.

Sources familiar with the situation have suggested the chronically cash-strapped senator needed the money to retain the services of a divorce attorney after his wife, Charleston County school board trustee Michele Leber, publicly exposed his affair with consultant Rebecca Madsen back in August.

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Michele Leber referred to Madsen as her husband’s “whore” – and claimed there were others with whom she was engaging in extramarital liaisons.

“There are more married men,” she publicly alleged, referencing Madsen. “She has had multiple affairs and likely blackmail on others. Divorces coming!”

These allegations were echoed by Madsen’s estranged husband, Rob Madsen, who reportedly retained the services of a private investigator to document his estranged wife’s rumored infidelities. A report was prepared in connection with those allegations, we are told, although it is not immediately clear what Rob Madsen or the investigator who prepared the document intend to do with its findings.

Leber and Madsen have both been accused of engaging in other extramarital relationships – with Leber being accused of using taxpayer resources to facilitate his alleged affairs.

The political soap opera enveloping the Lebers has continued to generate headlines long after the initial mid-summer bombshell about the senator’s affair with Madsen detonated.

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RELATED | MATT LEBER’S ‘WHITE TRASH-A-PALOOZA’

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Last month, Michele Leber was arrested and charged with third degree domestic violence following an altercation with her estranged husband at their family residence. The school board leader was allegedly “intoxicated and disruptive” during the incident, “prompting the senator to record her behavior,” according to a report from the Carolina Courier.

Matt Leber sustained a scratch on his arm during the altercation.

Not long after receiving his loan from Protopapas, Matt Leber retained prominent Charleston, S.C. attorney Jerry Theos to represent him in his divorce – a family court proceeding which has reportedly engendered panic among the ranks of the Palmetto State’s über-liberal, über-wealthy trial lawyer lobby.

“There is tremendous concern about their potential exposure,” a source close to the situation told FITSNews. “They are desperate to keep this bottled up.”

As we previously reported, Madsen has worked closely for years with Chris Slick – a veteran political operative who was among the most vocal advocates for the trial lawyers during the 2025 legislative session. Of interest? Slick deleted his entire pro-trial lawyer profile on X shortly after news of Leber’s affair with Madsen broke in August.

Slick has steadfastly refused to comment to this media outlet about his involvement with Leber – or the trial lawyers’ successful bid to shut down a comprehensive tort reform bill earlier this year. He has similarly refused to address Madsen’s efforts on behalf of the trial lawyer lobby.

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Elected as a pro-family, pro-business conservative, Leber’s tenure in office has not only been marked by his hypocritical infidelity – but by multiple ideological betrayals as well. In addition to being one of the lead sponsors of an unconstitutional legislative pay raise (which was struck down by the supreme court last month), Leber is one of several “Republican” senators who sold out citizens and taxpayers to carry the trial lawyers’ water this year.

Leber is continuing to carry the trial lawyers’ water heading into the 2026 session – refusing to support critical judicial selection reform legislation.

Meanwhile, Protopapas is making millions of dollars exploiting South Carolina’s broken court system. In fact, the specific racket he is helping run was granted a special carveout from lawmakers earlier this year.

Needless to say, Protopapas and his wealthy trial lawyer allies are beyond incentivized to keep their gravy trains rolling… and to keep any additional dirty laundry about Madsen hidden from public view.

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Once again, “the quiet part out loud.” South Carolina’s trial lawyer lobby effectively bribing state lawmakers… did it work? Stay tuned for an updated report… #SCStatehouse pic.twitter.com/MBzYSTtPFr

— FITSNews (@fitsnews) September 2, 2025

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An expedited hearing in the Lebers’ case has been scheduled for this coming Friday (December 19, 2025) at 12:00 p.m. EST before Charleston County family court judge Daniel E. Martin Jr. One of the motions Martin will reportedly consider aims to seal the Lebers’ case from the public view – a courtesy routinely extended by judges to powerful or politically connected couples. FITSNews has consistently editorialized against this practice for years.

“The sealing of public records for influential individuals is standard operating procedure in South Carolina … yet another example of the preferential treatment received by those in power (or those with proximity to power) in the Palmetto State,” I noted in 2020. “It works like this: When normal people screw up … everybody gets to read about their dirty laundry.  When those with ‘connections’ screw up, the sordid details of their dirty deeds are kept under lock and key … zealously guarded by judges who clearly have no conception of the notion of equal protection under the law.”

In the Lebers’ case, the “sordid details” and “dirty deeds” not only involve public officials – but may touch upon less-than-savory tactics by a powerful lobby to sway senators to its cause by any means necessary.

Count on FITSNews to keep close tabs on all pertinent developments related to the Lebers’ ongoing saga… and the broader debate over judicial reform and lawsuit reform in South Carolina.

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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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