Sanford impeachment looking less likely
Thursday, the ad-hoc impeachment committee went over the allegations provided by the State Ethics Commission. There was a lot of back-and-forth between the legislators and Gov. Mark Sanford‘s high-priced attorneys. Then it came. The big move. The committee dismissed 28 of the charges.
Yep, there were 37 counts of wrong-doing, and now only nine survive.
But the House impeachment panel took just 31 minutes Thursday to decide 28 of those charges did not meet the “serious” crimes or misconduct standard the state Constitution requires for impeachment.
The committee said Tuesday it likely would ignore half of nine other ethics charges relating to Sanford’s use of state-owned aircraft for personal or political travel.
Lawmakers still could impeach Sanford for serious misconduct because he left the state without informing other officials where he was and misled his staff.
Sanford also still faces the possibility of up to $74,000 in fines from those 37 charges when an S.C. State Ethics Commission panel debates his case in January.
Really, this is simply more good news for Democrats. The longer the GOP is saddled with dealing with the Sanford mess, the worse for the party.
