South Carolina Statehouse Blog

Governor’s Transparency Promise remains broken, in violation of court order

(Columbia, SC) – On November 5th, supporters of government transparency won a major victory when the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that Governor Mark Sanford had to fulfill the transparency promise he made and release the Ethics Commission’s investigative report to the public. 
 
Yesterday, the Ethics Commission privately gave the Governor a copy of this public document.  But despite this court ruling, Governor Sanford continues - as of this point in time - to violate his transparency promise by withholding this report from the public. 
 
House Speaker Bobby Harrell issued the following statement about yesterday’s Ethics Commission meeting and Governor Sanford’s refusal to release public documents:
 
“In their ruling, there is one thing the court made absolutely clear, that Governor Sanford completely and fully waived his right to confidentiality in this case.  The Governor’s waiver extends to all documentation to which he is entitled and makes that documentation available to the public.
 
“We are disappointed that Governor Sanford has broken his transparency promise by keeping this court-ordered public document secret.  After claiming to be a leader in the transparency movement and heavily criticizing others on this issue, the Governor’s insistence on secrecy goes against all his past actions on this issue. 
 
“The nine member Ethics Commission had the opportunity to publicly release this investigation during their closed-door meeting yesterday.  Instead, the Commission chose to privately give the Governor this public document. 
 
“Governor Sanford should release this public document to the citizens of South Carolina so that we can see the facts behind these allegations made against our state’s highest elected official.  Only then can we know the truth, quickly address the concerns it raises and move on so we can work on the issues South Carolinians care about the most.”
 
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