Corruption case against powerful SC GOP consultant Quinn still alive

The state grand jury case involving perjury and obstruction of justice charges against S.C. Republican consultant Richard Quinn is still very much alive.

Quinn, 74, whose legendary political empire of influence in the S.C. General Assembly was once dubbed “the Quinndom,” has now added two veteran trial lawyers to his defense — Shaun Kent of Manning and Rauch Wise of Greenwood. Trial lawyers specialize in fighting cases in court before a jury.

Quinn appeared Friday morning at a hearing in the Richland County courthouse before state Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen, along with Wise and Kent and a third defense lawyer, David Aylor of Charleston.

“Both Shaun and Rauch are formidable and aggressive — the creme de la creme,” said longtime Columbia criminal defense lawyer Jack Swerling, who has worked with both men. “You don’t put together a team of lawyers like that if you’re planning to plead.”

Since the state grand jury indicted Quinn last April on 11 counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice, there has been little court action in the case.

During the hearing, Mullen asked lawyers if they had a date for Quinn’s trial.

Assistant prosecutor Baker Allen said no date has been set.

Wise told the judge it appears that defense attorneys have potentially about one million pages of evidence and transcripts to review but added if prosecutors could narrow down the evidence they intend to bring up at trial, a trial date could be set for sooner rather than later.

Allen told the judge that prosecutors will discuss trimming the quantity of documents to make available to the defense. But he made no commitments.

The subject of Friday’s hearing was relatively minor: what to do about a $5.25 per page copying fee a private court reporting service wants to charge defense attorneys for copies of hundreds of pages of state grand jury testimony. Under the law, defendants are entitled to get copies of transcripts of state grand jury testimony.

Those transcripts are vital to Quinn’s ability to put on a defense, but a $5.25 per page copying fee is unduly expensive, Wise told Mullen.

Although defense attorneys are entitled by law to make copies of the transcript, a contract the S.C. Attorney General’s Office has with Creel Court Reporting says they are to be paid $5.25 per page, Allen told the judge.

In the end, Mullen ruled that Quinn’s defense team could go to Pascoe’s office with equipment to scan documents into a computer and copy them that way, free of charge.

The charges in Quinn’s case grew out of a years-long investigation of alleged influence buying in the S.C. General Assembly by special prosecutor David Pascoe and the State Law Enforcement Division.

The probe has been a multi-year investigation of some of the most powerful GOP lawmakers and political forces in Columbia. Over the years, Quinn has been a paid consultant to top Republicans including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, Gov. Henry McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson, former Sen. John Courson of Richland County, and U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson.

Leading institutions, including the University of South Carolina, the former SCANA, AT&T, the S.C. Association for Justice and the former Palmetto Health (now part of the Prisma health system), once paid Quinn and his firm hundreds of thousands of dollars to help represent their interests, according to prosecutors.

In a 33-page indictment, Quinn is accused of intentionally lying and misleading the state grand jury about his involvement with state lawmakers, including his son, former House Majority Leader Rick Quinn, and Attorney General Wilson.

The indictment said “Quinn intentionally gave incomplete and evasive testimony throughout to pervert, obstruct, impede, and hinder the ongoing investigation by the State Grand Jury.”

As part of Pascoe’s probe, Quinn was questioned before the state grand jury on April 20, 2018, and on May 7, 2018, in a closed session.

Since 2014, Pascoe’s and SLED’s investigations have led to the convictions and guilty pleas of four lawmakers who were in office at the time: Former S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston; then-state Rep. Rick Quinn, the elder Quinn’s son; then-state Sen. John Courson, R-Richland; and then-Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley.

A former lawmaker who had left office before the investigation started, Richland Republican Jim Harrison, was convicted of perjury and misconduct after a jury heard evidence at trial in October 2018 that Harrison had taken nearly $900,000 in secret payments from Quinn in exchange for supporting legislation benefiting some of Quinn’s clients. Harrison’s case is now on appeal. Quinn did not testify in that case.

Although Courson pleaded guilty to misconduct in connection with taking some $159,000 over six years from Quinn’s firm, Courson has not yet been sentenced. Charges are still pending against former state Rep. Tracy Edge, R-Horry, who allegedly took nearly $300,000 from Quinn while in the Legislature. Both Edge and Courson are potential witnesses for the prosecution when and if Quinn goes to trial.

In Richard Quinn’s latest indictment, he is accused of lying about why he helped Attorney General Wilson draft a 2015 letter to Pascoe attempting to stop Pascoe from investigating State House corruption allegations.

Quinn helped Wilson because he, Quinn, was trying “to protect his son, (then-Rep.) Rick Quinn, from being investigated and/or prosecuted by Solicitor Pascoe,” the indictment says.

After Friday’s hearing, Wise declined comment. Pascoe, who was not at the hearing, also declined comment.

Correction: This story originally referred to U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson by an incorrect first name. It has been updated.

This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 4:05 PM.