Long-awaited corruption trial of Richland senator begins Monday
The long-anticipated public corruption trial of veteran state Sen. John Courson, R-Richland, is set to begin Monday at the Richland County Courthouse.
The 73-year-old Courson, elected to the state Senate in 1984, is one of the Legislature's longest-serving members. However, he has been suspended from office since his indictment last year as part of the ongoing State House corruption probe, led by special prosecutor David Pascoe.
Courson is charged with misconduct in office, criminal conspiracy and converting campaign money to his personal use by taking kickbacks from the firm of Republican political consultant Richard Quinn. It is illegal to use campaign money for personal expenses.
Courson has insisted he is innocent. His lawyer, Rose Mary Parham, has called the case "a witch hunt."
The trial is expected to give the public a close-up look at how candidates for public office use or misuse money they raise for their campaigns. Under S.C. law, that money is supposed to be used for campaign expenses only — not personal expenses.
According to the indictment in the case and public statements by Pascoe in court, Courson paid Quinn's Columbia firm a sizable political consulting fee on several occasions. Then, a few days later, the Quinn firm would write Courson a check for just under $10,000. Courson would take that check to a Bank of America branch where he had an account and cash it, leaving the bank with thousands of dollars in his pocket.
In all, Courson paid the Quinn firm $247,829 from 2006 to 2012. Then, the firm paid Courson $132,802 "though multiple transactions," according to the indictment.
Exactly what Courson did with that money — or whether he paid taxes on it — is unknown.
By getting a check for under $10,000, Pascoe has said, Courson avoided a law that requires banks to report all transactions of more than $10,000 to federal law enforcement authorities.
Quinn, too, initially faced broad criminal charges in connection with Pascoe's investigation into influence-peddling at the General Assembly. However, as part of a December plea bargain deal, Pascoe dropped all criminal charges against Quinn. In return, Quinn's firm agreed to pay a fine for illegally lobbying the Legislature, and Quinn agreed to testify before the state grand jury.
Now, Quinn could be called as a witness against Courson, his longtime political-strategy client.
Founded in 1978, the Quinn consulting and public relation firm had strong ties to numerous prominent GOP politicians, including Gov. Henry McMaster, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson. Its clients also included the late President Ronald Reagan and the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond.
Thus far, Pascoe's investigation has secured guilty pleas from three state legislators, all Republicans. All resigned from office. Two other former GOP legislators also face charges.
State Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen will preside at Courson's trial.
This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Long-awaited corruption trial of Richland senator begins Monday."