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COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose tryst with an Argentine lover blossomed into a wide-ranging scandal, is accused of breaking ethics laws by using taxpayer money for pricey airline seats, taking state planes for personal and political trips and occasionally tapping his campaign chest to reimburse himself for travel.
The details of 37 charges against the second-term Republican governor were released Monday. He has been under scrutiny since he vanished for five days over the summer, reappearing to tearfully admit to an extramarital affair with a woman he later called his “soul mate.”
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.
Sanford’s attorney on Monday characterized the allegations levied by the panel as “technical questions.”
“We are confident that we will be able to address each of these questions, none of which constitutes findings of guilt and none of which we believe rise anywhere near to the traditional standard of impeachment,” lawyer Butch Bowers said.
Each of the counts claims Sanford used his office for personal financial gain and carries a maximum $2,000 fine if he is found guilty.
Four GOP lawmakers already have filed a resolution that would force Sanford from office because of “dereliction of duty,” and the travel allegations play no part in that move. Their measure deals solely with Sanford’s absence from the state, when he led his staff to believe he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was in Argentina.
A committee that will consider that measure is scheduled to meet for the first time today.
