By Bob Bouyea
bbouyea@scbiznews.com
Published Sept. 11, 2009

The state Ethics Commission would violate the law if it were to give the General Assembly its preliminary investigative report into Gov. Mark Sanford’s alleged abuses of his office, said Sanford’s attorney, Carl “Butch” Bowers.

“If the report is released, I would submit to you that it would be against the law,” he said.

Bowers argued that giving the report to the Legislature violates the Ethics Commission’s process of first releasing reports to a prosecutorial body.

“It’s not OK to short-circuit the Ethics process to get what you want. If you go this route, you’re setting up a kangaroo court,” Sanford said. “It flies in the face of justice and fair play.”

Bowers said that, if the commission did release the report, it would be incomplete, because the “governor has had no opportunity to prove the facts. It’s purely one-sided,” he said.

Ethics Commission Executive Director Herbert Hayden Jr. could not be reached for comment by press time.

The Ethics Commission is investigating whether Sanford broke state law by flying business class instead of coach, or by his use of state and private planes.

As Sanford was defending against the release of the commission’s report, the S.C. Republican Party sent Sanford a letter on Thursday asking him to resign. Chairwoman Karen Floyd said in a written statement that the party’s action was not in regard to whether Sanford should be impeached — that is an issue for the General Assembly; but it could take months to resolve, she said.

“Our state simply cannot wait until it concludes before moving forward,” she said.

“History judges leaders for their ability to put the needs of others first. In that spirit, we respectfully call on you to place the public interest ahead of all other considerations and offer your resignation. Only then will our State be able to move forward.”

The GOP’s letter follows letters sent to the governor by House Speaker Bobby Harrell and members of the Republican Caucus calling on Sanford to act in the best interest of the state and resign.

Harrell called Sanford’s latest news conference just one more distraction.

“In my meeting last week with the Ethics Commission executive director, which occurred after Gov. Sanford waived confidentiality, he confirmed for me the existence of the investigation, and the process and timeline the commission would follow,” Harrell said. “He also told me that they would give a report to the General Assembly at the same time they gave it to the Attorney General, who is the person who requested the Ethics Commission investigation.”