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South Carolina Supreme Court To Hear Gov. Sanford's Ethics Case
October 19, 2009 10:17 a.m. EST
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Columbia, SC (AHN) - The South Carolina Supreme Court hears arguments on Monday whether initial findings of the Ethics Commission about allegations that Gov. Mark Sanford had illegally used state resources, should released to members of the legislature. The governor has filed a petition not to release the preliminary report.
South Carolina Attorney General Henry McCaster, a Republican, in August asked the Ethics Commission to investigate Sanford's use of the state aircraft and reports that the governor had violated ethics rules.
The 49-year-old Sanford is facing calls to resign and a potential impeachment effort because of questions regarding his official business trips. The controversy began in June, when he disappeared for five days and then admitted that he had not, as his aides had said, been hiking on the Appalachian Trail but had been to Buenos Aires to meet a woman with whom he had been having an extramarital affair for over a year.
Chairman of the Republican Governors Association and a potential contender for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination before his admission of infidelity, Sanford has repeatedly admitted guilt about his controversial weekend trip, which had prompted concerns of gubernatorial succession, but has attributed the ensuing allegations about his use of the state plane and business class tickets as "pure politics."
The governor in August penned in an op-ed in the local newspaper the State saying a report on his use of the state aircraft was "misleading." He said had traveled on the plane a total 228.95 hours, less than predecessors Carroll Campbell's 451 hours and David Beaseley's 303 hours.
"Of the 228.95 hours I flew, roughly 70 were in the Department of Natural Resources' single-engine Cessna," Sanford added, "because whenever I had a chance I tried to use this small plane that has an operating cost about one-fifth that of the King Air; this alone saved taxpayers more than $60,000. No governor has done this before."
Around the same time, he waived confidentiality in response to the Ethics Commission probe, saying his administration "has nothing to hide" and that, "We've provided documentation supporting this administration's strong record in defending the taxpayer and in staying true to both the intent and letter of the law with regard to travel."
In September, Sanford said in a radio show his use of business class tickets for an economic development and other trips, which is being investigated by a budget committee led by state Sen. David Thomas, was based on "the accepted practice in the Commerce Dept. for the last 25 years" and had been done by previous governors, state officials and members of the legislature.
But nearly all elected officials of his administration have called for him to resign.
Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer had offered to forego his own plans to launch a gubernatorial campaign this fall if he takes over the remainder of Sanford's term.
The state House GOP, which holds the majority in the legislature, initially said it would issue the "appropriate response" after the ethics probe, but later repeatedly called for the governor to step down.
"Your admitted actions and the facts surrounding the allegations against you... reveal a pattern of poor decision making and questionable leadership," the Republican caucus wrote last month. "But perhaps even more disappointing and disturbing.... is the extreme amount of stress, uncertainty, and negative scrutiny that the citizens of South Carolina, our government and our party have had to endure due to your behavior."
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