Sanford Faces Ethics Violations
Everyone’s favorite Appalachian Trail hiker is not out of hot water yet. South Carolina’s State Ethics Board has released a report, charging Sanford with 37 separate violations:
The civil charges, which carry a maximum $74,000 in fines, stem from a three-month investigation by the state ethics commission and could be pivotal in a push by some lawmakers to remove him from office. The state attorney general is deciding whether the governor would face any criminal charges.
The ethics charges include 18 instances in which Sanford is accused of improperly buying first- and business-class airline tickets, violating state law requiring lowest-cost travel; nine times of improperly using state-owned aircraft for travel to political and personal events, including a stop at a discount hair salon; and 10 times he improperly reimbursed himself with campaign cash.
The travel allegations were first uncovered in a series of Associated Press investigations, while the allegations about his use of campaign funds were revealed by The State newspaper in Columbia.
The full ethics report can be read at this link. Some of the improper flights were Sanford using state funds to see his girlfriend, but that’s not the only thing he was doing on the taxpayer dime:
The commission also charges that Sanford used state aircraft to, among other things:
– Get a haircut
– Take a family vacation on the Georgia coast
– Get to one of his son’s games
– Go to a dinner in Charleston
– Attend a book signing in Mount Pleasant (a Charleston suburb)
– Go to a county Republican Party meeting
– Go to the grand opening of Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach
– Attend a state house Republican caucus meeting in Greenville
– Go to a campaign contributor’s birthday party
Sanford was actually a leader among Republican governors in fighting against accepting stimulus funds. He was actually forced to accept the funds by his state legislature. Sanford is just another “fiscal conservative” on the take.
Tags: Family Values, Mark Sanford, SC-Gov
Mark sanford is a good christian who has asked for forgiveness on the private matter. the left wing media should leave him alone with his family. And as far as these “ethics violations”, if only we could deregulate state government and make the big Obama regime keeps its hand out of it, it would create more small businesses and let them keep more of what they are producin’ and earnin’. Glory be To Palin *sacrifices a cow*
Wait . . . wait . . . Sandford flew to get a haircut? What is it with Carolinian men and expensive haircuts?
BTW A. price that was awesome. Great job channeling Republican David.
But he looks so clean cut, white, Christian and American.
He should pay the fine and move on. It was only about love and sex. It is none of anyone’s business. It is the politics of personal destruction which should be condemned by all.
Many of those charges are nit picky and aimed at making the case look impressive.
I expect Lan Davis to be representing Governor Sanford. He didn’t lie under oath.
“He should pay the fine and move on. It was only about love and sex. It is none of anyone’s business. It is the politics of personal destruction which should be condemned by all.”
i’ll give 5 dollars to ANYONE who find or can site a quote david made about Clinton. SERIOUSLY man, that listtle zinger contradicts every point you tried to make about every democrat that has ever gotten in trouble
it’s called sarcasm, he is applying the democrat standard.
gecko,
ive read a lot of RD’s posts and his fanatical defense of republicans suggests that he is dead serious.
Lanny Davis–don’t you get it. He was Clinton’s defender. Gecko got it. I tried to give you an hint because you guys can never seem to tell if I am serious or not.
Oddly enough, my problem with Clinton was all of the unconstitutional undermining of the nation. I thought that he should have been impeached for Chinagate and hiding evidence in Whitewater. I wasn’t thrilled with what the siezed upon, though obstruction of justice and perjury where removable offences. I supported the impeachment based upon the fact that he took a nothing act (legally) and had the bad sense to lie in a sealed grand jury testimony. The affair was not the problem. The perjury, obstruction, and suborning perjury was. You guys will never accept that so what is the point.
As I said then, I say now that the personal life is not what we hire them for. That is for them to work out. It is fun that I said that in 1998 because now when you still defend Clinton for worse and try to condemn Sanford, I can tweek you.
There isn’t much point in assessing the snark factor from someone who thinks that Glen Beck qualifies as “entertainment”.