Asking Judge to Replace Attorney General as Grand Jury Prosecutor
Circuit Court Judge Casey Manning is faced with a dilemma. He is being asked by lawyers for House Speaker Bobby Harrell to disqualify South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson from prosecuting a state grand jury ethics case against House Speaker Harrell.
This is a high-stakes political battle between an Attorney General, who says he is only doing his job, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, who holds the most powerful position in the state and has been accused of abusing that power and misusing campaign funds.
The judge could jeopardize his position on the bench if he rules against Harrell. Furthermore, any judge who would replace the Attorney General on the Case would be similarly indebted to Harrell, who has extensive power in the process of appointing judges.
Attorneys for Harrell had requested that the hearing be held in secret, however, the South Carolina Press Assn. and others filed a brief objecting to a closed hearing. Also, a large crowd of citizens and public officials showed up to attend the hearing and the Judge ruled that it would be open. Several individuals from the Upstate attended the hearing and presented a report at the Friday evening RINO Hunt meeting.
Last year the South Carolina Policy Council compiled a list of alleged improper acts by the House Speaker. The allegations were turned over to the Attorney General. Harrell allegedly became angry because the Attorney General asked SLED rather than the House Ethics Committee to investigate the allegations. Wilson testified Friday that he decided to send the citizen complaint to SLED rather than to the House Ethics panel because Bobby Harrell “hires and fires” the ethics committee staff.
Over continued objections by Harrell, the SLED report was given to the Attorney General and after review, the Attorney General decided that the case should be referred to the Grand Jury.
Now lawyers for Harrell are attempting to have the Attorney General taken off the case and replaced by a judge. Arguments were made before Judge Casey Manning on Friday and he announced that he would make a decision at a later date. The Judge gave attorneys for both Harrell and Wilson until Wednesday to prepare and submit their briefs.
Grand Jury proceedings are secret, however, the fact that the results of the SLED investigation have been given to a grand jury indicates that the House Speaker may be facing potential serious legal problems.