Former SC House speaker ordered to pay state $113,475

The S.C. House Ethics Committee ordered former House Speaker Bobby Harrell to pay the state $113,475 on Tuesday to offset campaign money that the Charleston Republican spent on legal fees during his political corruption case.

Harrell, once one of the state’s most powerful politicians, resigned after pleading guilty in October to six criminal charges of misusing campaign cash, including falsifying trips on his personal plane.

As part of his plea agreement with the state, Harrell was ordered to turn over any money in his campaign account to the state.

However, Harrell had used almost half of the $238,240 in campaign contributions that he had raised for his re-election bid to cover legal fees charged by Charleston attorneys Bart Daniel and Gedney Howe, who defended him during the criminal investigation. Harrell paid the attorneys in April and July 2014, according to campaign records.

The S.C. House Ethics Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to declare those payments improper, ordering Harrell to pay the state general fund $113,475 within 30 days.

Harrell said Tuesday afternoon that he was unaware of the Ethics Committee hearing.

“All of this was done without any notice to me of the meeting and without affording me the opportunity to be heard by the committee,” the former speaker said in a press release. “This was a clear violation of my due-process rights.”

The hearing, he added, “was caused to take place the day my daughter-in-law is being admitted to the hospital to give birth to my ... first grandchild.”

“All of the issues discussed by the committee were included as subjects of last year’s investigation. I will be happy to discuss this with anyone after my granddaughter comes home from the hospital.”

House members can use campaign money to pay lawyers if they are found innocent of ethics charges, said House Ethics Committee chairman Kenny Bingham, R-Lexington.

Gov. Nikki Haley, for example, was allowed to use $50,000 from her campaign to pay for attorneys in 2012, when the Ethics Committee cleared her of using her office for personal gain during her time as a Republican representative.

But representatives cannot use campaign money to defend themselves if they are found or plead guilty, Bingham said citing a 2013 Ethics Committee advisory opinion. That opinion means Harrell could not pay his lawyers with campaign contributions, Bingham said.

“What you cannot do (according to the opinion) is use attorney’s fees for personal misconduct and, in this particular case, Speaker Harrell pleaded guilty to personal misconduct in office,” Bingham said.

As part of his plea deal, Harrell agreed to resign and pay $124,000 in fines and penalties.

He also was required to send the remainder of the money in his campaign account to the state. After expenses, Harrell handed over the final $3,571 on Oct. 31, according to campaign records.

Harrell also agreed to three years of probation and to tell authorities about any illegal activity that he knew of by other state lawmakers. He also cannot run for office for three years.

Harrell spent 21 years in the Legislature, including a decade as speaker.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 12:16 PM.