Wednesday, Jul. 01, 2009

Sanford confidant Davis confers with Sanfords, staff

Many 'talking to (the governor) behind the scenes'

Sen. Tom Davis, Gov. Mark Sanford's former chief of staff, said Wednesday he has spoken with both the governor and First Lady Jenny Sanford about the governor's future. Davis, in a statement, said only after those conversations and conversations with Attorney General Henry McMaster and SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd will he take a public position on Sanford's future.

"Obviously I have tremendous concern for my friends, Mark and Jenny Sanford and their family, but I also have a job to do as an elected official," said Davis, a Beaufort Republican. "Before any important decision I make comes due diligence, and I owe it to my constituents to perform that due diligence before taking a public position on an issue as important as whether to call for the resignation of a duly-elected statewide official."

"Accordingly, I have met today with the governor and members of his staff; I have had telephone conversations with my friend, Jenny Sanford; I have talked with the governor’s legislative supporters and opponents; and I have talked with key reform leaders who have been fighting for the issues I believe in -- fiscal responsibility, limited government, market principles and individual liberty"

On Wednesday afternoon, Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell became the latest -- and one of the most significant -- members of the S.C. legislature to say the governor should consider stepping down after admitting to an affair.

In a statement, McConnell encouraged Sanford to do the right thing:

"Neither I nor my colleagues in the General Assembly can require that the Governor resign," McConnell said in his statement.

"That decision is his alone. I do believe, however, that the Governor has lost the support of the people that is needed to govern. Therefore, I would ask the Governor to look in his heart and decide whether with his family situation and the public uproar over what he has done and said locally and nationally whether he can lead our state for the remainder of his term."

Ten Republican state senators have asked the governor to step down, while others say they are leaning in that direction. The Associated Press is reporting that 14 Republican state senators are supporting a resignation, which is a majority of the 27 GOP members.

The tide turned after Sanford revealed he had seen his Argentine lover more times than he'd originally stated and that he had what he considered to be inappropriate encounters with other women short of sex.

On Wednesday morning, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of Greenville urged Sanford to make the “right decision.”

“He’s dropped the flag. The rest of us have to get up and go on,” DeMint said during an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “A lot of us are talking to him behind the scenes in hopes that he'll make the right decision about what needs to be done.”

Asked what the “right decision” would be for Sanford, DeMint said: “I don't want to say.”

Sanford vanished late last month from South Carolina without telling anyone where he was going for a week to visit his Argentine lover. Confronted by a State newspaper when his plane from Argentina landed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Sanford initially said he had been on an adventure trip to Argentina, driving the country’s coast line.

When subsequently told The State had e-mails outlining an affair with Maria Belen Chapur, Sanford said he had been unfaithful to his wife and that they were separated.

During an Tuesday interview, Sanford said he had “crossed lines” with multiple women and added he actually visited his Argentine mistress on seven different trips dating back to 2001. DeMint said the further explanation was “not a wise thing to do in this business.”

“They say, when you are explaining, you are losing. And particularly on that subject, I think, he was,” the senator said. “I'm concerned of whether or not he is in a position that he can continue to lead the state.”

DeMint said that a number of state Republicans are “talking to [Sanford] quietly, and hopefully it will be resolved.”

“I have my concerns to whether or not he can continue,” he said. “I think we will see some resolution in the next week.”

Twelve of the 27 members of the state Senate's Majority Caucus now have signed a petition, calling for Sanford to resign.

The latest Republican to sign was state Sen. Wes Hayes, R-York, chairman of the Senate's ethics committee.

Two additional senators considered among Sanford’s staunchest allies, also said they want him to resign though they did not sign the letter. Two other senior senators who spoke to the State said Tuesday’s revelations moved them closer to asking Sanford to step down.

The letter was crafted by Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, and was circulated among Senate Republicans on Tuesday.

It marked a major break in the silence of the General Assembly, which has the authority to remove the governor. Senators have been debating what to do about Sanford since late last week, while House members have largely remained silent.

“I signed a letter today asking him to step down,” said Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, chairman of the Senate Rules committee. • 

Martin’s reaction came after Sanford told The Associated Press he had more romantic meetings with his Argentinian lover, Maria Belen Chapur, than he previously admitted, including two trysts in New York.

Sanford told the news agency he also had “crossed the line” with other women.

Attorney General Henry McMaster, who is mulling a run for governor, called on SLED to investigate the governor’s travel after the new confessions.

Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Camden, called for Sanford’s resignation.

So did Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor. Grooms said he privately urged Sanford to resign last week after his much-discussed confessional news conference. Grooms is generally a dependable vote for the governor’s policies.

“I am calling on the governor to resign,” Grooms said Tuesday after campaigning in the Upstate. “Our governor has lost the moral integrity to lead this state.”

Rep. Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, a Sanford ally seeking the Republican nomination for governor said in a statement Wednesday: "The people of South Carolina have heard enough about the governor's personal life. ... What we do need to hear from the governor is an explanation as to how he can lead our state going forward. ... I remain willing to listen to that case, but if he cannot make it convincingly, then he must move on."

Sanford’s spokesman, Joel Sawyer, has reiterated the governor will not step down.

“The governor felt it was important to get details out there and have a full accounting of what he’s done,” Sawyer said. “It doesn’t change the fact that there was no (additional) state money spent. He’s determined to remain on as governor and determined to continue the work of this administration.”

Martin said the additional revelations are what he feared most — a continual “seeping out” of Sanford indiscretions, which Martin said residents find most upsetting.

“It’s as though we’re looking at a completely different person — one we didn’t know existed,” Martin said of Sanford.

Lawmakers had been slow to call for Sanford to quit, many citing the need to first learn all the facts.

Now, some of Sanford’s strongest Senate allies are urging him to step aside.

“It’s time for him to resign,” said Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, who generally supports the governor’s agenda. “We’ve heard from some people in recent days who separate the bedroom from the board room. I don’t. I look at the whole character of a person, the decisions they make and their dealings with their families.”

Bryant said he did not sign the letter because it just didn’t feel right but believes the governor must go in order to salvage reform efforts.

“I do believe in forgiveness and reconciliation, but I think it will put back the reform movement that I’ve been a part of,” he said.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who would chair any forced ouster of the governor by the Republican-controlled Legislature, said it’s premature to heed calls from those in his own party to remove Sanford.

“I want to see what the investigation finds before I’m willing to discuss that topic,” said Harrell, a Charleston Republican.

State Law Enforcement Division director Reggie Lloyd said agents are reviewing documents supplied by Sanford’s office about his travels to determine whether any state laws have been broken.

“I have nothing, absolutely nothing that he used taxpayer money for anything (improper),” Lloyd told reporters late Tuesday.

Sanford paid the state back about $3,000 for a state-funded trip he took last year in which he saw his lover.

The inquiry — which Lloyd made clear is not a criminal investigation — will be completed in a “couple of days.”

Then SLED will address the questions posed by lawmakers and others about misconduct in office, adultery or misuse of public funds, Lloyd said.

Meanwhile, two other senior Republican senators said Tuesday they are closer to calling for Sanford to resign — but stopped short.

“I was already close to calling for his resignation,” said Sen. Wes Hayes, R-York, who is 13th in Senate seniority, after the governor’s new revelations. “I think this just may push me over.”

Hayes, who is chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, said he, “owes it to the office of governor” to sleep on his decision. He said he would announce it today.

Richland Sen. John Courson, seventh in seniority, said his key concern had been whether Sanford’s trysts were at taxpayer expense.

But when Courson heard from a reporter that Sanford admitted Tuesday he “crossed the line” with a handful of women — though he denied having sex with them — Courson paused.

“That is troubling,” he said. “I would need further explanation of that from him.”

Yet Courson said the new disclosures push him closer to calling for the governor to resign.

Some Sanford allies are sticking by the governor’s side, including his former chief of staff and friend for more than 30 years, Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort.

“I do think he can be an effective leader,” said Davis Tuesday morning. “I don’t think he should resign.”

A third group of senators says they’re still undecided, including Sen. Mick Mulvaney, R-Lancaster, who was endorsed by Sanford in 2008.

Mulvaney said he does not know if the governor should resign.

“I’m trying to focus on what matters to the people of South Carolina, which is, did the governor do anything illegal? Did he misuse the office?” Mulvaney said.

- Fox News, Politco and The State contributed to this report

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