Harrell in court, expected to plead guilty, resign

Suspended S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell will resign his House seat and plead guilty Thursday to charges of using campaign funds for personal gain, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Harrell arrived at the Richland County courthouse with his family and his attorney, Bart Daniel, for the 10:30 a.m.

No details were given about the subject of the hearing in a news release issued Wednesday afternoon by 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe.

“No further information will be provided at this time,” Pascoe said in the release.

But sources familiar with the investigation say Harrell will plead guilty to several of the charges and will resign from the House seat he has held since 1993. He also will be prohibited from seeking office for three years, the sources said.

Harrell, 58, who faces various charges of criminal misconduct in office, already has had a bond hearing and is free on $18,000 bond.

He was indicted Sept. 10 on nine ethics and misconduct-related charges, including illegally using campaign money for personal expenses, filing false campaign disclosure reports and misconduct in office.

It was the first time in memory that a sitting South Carolina House speaker was indicted. He quickly was suspended from the leadership position he held since 2005.

Harrell was indicted on two counts of misconduct in office, six counts of using campaign funds for personal use and one count of false reporting candidate campaign disclosures.

Each of the pending charges against Harrell is a misdemeanor, but one – common-law misconduct in office – carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Several other public office holders who have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in recent years have resigned as part of their plea agreement.

In 2012, when former Lt. Gov. Ken Ard pleaded guilty to using campaign contributions for his personal use, he resigned his post as part of the plea negotiations. Ard got five years’ probation, a $5,000 fine and 300 hours of community service.

In 2010, former Columbia City Council member E.W. Cromartie pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of tax evasion and two counts of structuring bank deposits to avoid IRS reporting requirements. Cromartie resigned when he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

One count against Harrell accuses him of using more than $90,000 in campaign contributions to pay costs related to use of his personal airplane and another $70,286 to pay the salary of an unnamed administrative assistant who works for his State Farm insurance business. In all, Harrell paid himself from campaign funds “totaling approximately $294,335 in untaxed income,” according to one count.

Harrell has insisted for months that he is innocent and has indicated he would seek a trial.

“I have said all along that I have never intentionally violated any law, and I still strongly believe that statement to be accurate,” Harrell said after being indicted Sept. 9 by a Richland County grand jury at Pascoe’s behest.

Harrell repeatedly has characterized a State Law Enforcement Division investigation into his campaign expenditures as politically motivated.

SLED finished its investigation late last year. In January, state Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that as a result of the SLED investigation, he would convene a State Grand Jury for further investigation and possible indictment.

From January to the end of June, that grand jury continued its investigation. During that time, Harrell’s lawyers fought a legal battle to disqualify Wilson from the case on conflict of interest allegations and other issues.

In July, after the state Supreme Court ordered Circuit Court Judge Casey Manning to consider whether Wilson should be disqualified, Wilson stepped aside from the case and asked Pascoe to be the official prosecutor.

By that time, the State Grand Jury that had been reviewing the SLED investigation and other evidence had disbanded.

On Aug. 29, with the consent of Harrell, his lawyers and Wilson, Manning issued a written order designating Pascoe as an independent prosecutor to handle the Harrell investigation “as he deems appropriate,” according to the order.

On Sept. 2, Pascoe got Manning’s official permission to use all the evidence developed by SLED and the State Grand Jury “as he sees fit,” according to the order.

Eight days later, Pascoe sent SLED’s Lt. Kevin Baker before a Richland County grand jury, which indicted Harrell that day after hearing from Baker.

This story was originally published October 22, 2014 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Harrell in court, expected to plead guilty, resign."