|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by WILL FOLKS
***
The chief of South Carolina’s statewide grand jury – and the lead prosecutor in the case of accused killer Alex Murdaugh – threw shade on one of the candidates running for attorney general of the Palmetto State recently.
Creighton Waters, who considered campaigning for attorney general himself, took to social media late Friday evening and early Saturday morning (May 29-30, 2026) to criticize S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe for his alleged failure to see a sprawling public corruption case through to completion.
Waters did not mention Pascoe by name, but appropriated unto himself – and attorney general Alan Wilson – full credit for initiating ‘ProbeGate,’ a criminal investigation into influence peddling at the S.C. State House. Specifically, Waters cited a July 2014 hearing before the S.C. supreme court in which he and Wilson successfully argued to keep these investigations alive.
“We won and were the architects of it all,” Waters wrote. “Such a super hard fight just to keep it going.”
In one of the comments below his post, Waters referenced how he has prosecuted “sheriffs, chiefs, school officials stealing money, agency officials (and) legislators.”
***
“Someone else had a case handed to them on a silver platter,” he continued. “And then…”
Questioned as to which case he was referencing, Waters added that he “let someone else into the case we made on a silver platter – then he gave it away for half its value, ensured we could not participate in the debrief and had to appeal his own guilty plea.”
Waters did not specifically identify the case – or name the prosecutor – but multiple sources familiar with the context of his remarks told us he was referring to Pascoe’s handling of ‘ProbeGate.’
Pascoe was originally responsible for overseeing the ‘ProbeGate’ cases, securing several guilty pleas and one conviction. In March of 2021, though, Wilson’s office referred all remaining criminal cases connected to the investigation to S.C. seventh circuit solicitor Barry Barnette. That referral followed a supreme court ruling over disputed prosecutorial powers in the inquiry.
Our media outlet covered Probegate extensively at the time – praising Pascoe for the guilty pleas and the conviction he secured, but criticizing him for failing to hold the special interests involved accountable. Pascoe has insisted he was prevented from taking the case all the way by the courts.
***
RELATED | ‘CORRUPT BARGAIN’ THEORY GAINS TRACTION
***
“Midnight social media posting is never a good idea – as it tends to cloud one’s senses and keep them from accurately recalling facts,” Pascoe told us. “I doubt the attorney general’s office wants an autopsy of their mishandling of the probe.”
According to Pascoe, Waters “failed to mention how at least three solicitors including one of my opponents turned down the probe, calling it a ‘hornet’s nest.'”
“I had to fight the attorney general’s office at every step to pursue justice,” Pascoe said. “If I had not sued the attorney general’s office for the right to initiate the grand jury probe with SLED, corrupt politicians we removed from office would still be running our state.”
“Luckily for Mr. Waters, I’ll be coming in to clean up the corruption in our state,” Pascoe added. “The days of protecting corrupt politicians will end. The days of paying lawyer legislators millions in no-bid contracts will end too.”
Waters previously stated on social media that he “decided not to run” for attorney general, but is endorsing the candidacy of S.C. eighth circuit solicitor David Stumbo.
“I know him to be a committed and top notch prosecutor, a man of high character, and an excellent lawyer on whose advice I have relied in the past,” Waters wrote of Stumbo.
Partisan primary elections in South Carolina are scheduled for June 9, 2026 – with early voting currently underway. Recent polls show Pascoe and state senator Stephen Goldfinch running neck-and-neck in the race for the Republican attorney general’s nomination, with Stumbo gaining ground behind them. In the event no candidate wins a majority of votes on the first ballot, the top two vote-getters would advance to a head-to-head runoff election two weeks later (on June 23, 2026).
***
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.
***
SOUND OFF…
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
4 comments
I like Stumbo but if he wins he needs to ditch Waters. Do a little research people, Pascoe tried to go further with the investigation to root out the real corruption and it was Waters and Wilson who put a stop to it by going to the Supreme Court. I mean it was Wilson’s handlers that the investigation targeted. That’s why Wilson doesn’t get along with the SLED chief, because Keel wanted to investigate further. Makes one wonder why Hobart Lewis is fighting so hard to get Wilson elected. Remember the governor appoints the SLED Chief
CORRECT.
Honestly, I can be OK with Pascoe or Stumbo. Anyone but Goldfinch. Can someone please get Goldfinch into an actual interview by a real journalist (not the slobbering Bourbon in the Backroom foot massage & pedicure treatment) and get him to explain why he keeps talking about some injury he received in Africa whilst trying desperately to make it sound like it was in combat when he has no Purple Heart to show for it? And how his federal indictment involving some kind of fraud or other legal transgression involving his with a fetal stem cell research company just disappeared without any trace of how it was resolved – or not? Or how he falsely accused Treasurer Loftis of about a dozen crimes and lies but yet here we are over a year later and not single prosecution of any kind – not even perjury- or even so much as a critical public comment from law enforcement- ever came to pass?? Folks, the powers of the AG are immense, and his immunity from any liability for the decisions he makes that can ruin people’s lives if misused is not something to be trifled with. Goldfinch cannot hold such power. He is far too reckless with telling the full truth of the things and has no problem distorting the truth to destroy a political or personal enemy.
Creighton must be planning to leave his job if Stumbo doesn’t win. Otherwise, this is a career-ender.