SUBCOMMITTEE HOPES TO ISSUE REPORT BY CHRISTMAS

A South Carolina House Judiciary subcommittee Tuesday held the first of at least four meetings into the possible impeachment of Gov. Mark Sanford.

The seven-member panel met in Columbia to discuss a resolution filed by State Rep. Greg Delleney (R-Chester) to remove Sanford from office for dereliction of duty, absence without leave, deceit and cover up, and disgrace of office.

“He was absent from this state and he left no constitutional chain of command,” Delleney told the subcommittee. “The constitution does not contemplate a missing governor. He left his state, he left his country, and provided his staff a story of fiction to cover up his whereabouts.”

Delleney’s motion deals largely with Sanford’s role as head of the state militia and national guard, something with which Rep. Walt McLeod (D-Newberry) took issue.

“[The bill] is a little shrill for a civilian. I nor the governor are members of a military organization. Terms are more fitting for individuals in uniform,” McLeod said. “He is technically in charge of national guard, but, for a practical matter, the commander in chief is the adjutant general. It doesn’t constitute dereliction of duty because those are military terms.”

On Monday, the State Ethics Commission found 37 instances in which the governor broke state ethics laws.

State Rep. James Smith (D-Richland) asked that the panel consider both Delleney’s impeachment resolution — which deals largely with dereliction of duty — as well as the commissions findings, so that “all action by this committee is final.”

The committee was provided sworn affidavits from SLED chief Reggie Lloyd, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and Sanford chief of staff Scott English, all detailing their accounts of the governor’s five day disappearance that eventually led to the revelation of an affair with a woman in Argentina.

The panel will meet again Dec. 1 to discuss Sanford’s alleged misuse of state aircraft, Dec. 3 to look into whether he illegally reimbursed himself from campaign accounts, and Dec. 7 to cover the governor’s possible illegal business class upgrades.

The subcommittee hopes to issue a report to the full judiciary committee by Christmas. The full committee will then use that report to vote for or against sending the bill to the House floor.