Ex-state lawmaker who pleaded guilty to misconduct returns to SC political scene
Former S.C. House Majority Leader Jim Merrill is making a public comeback in State House politics, two years after he resigned and pleaded guilty to misconduct in office.
The Charleston Republican and director of then-candidate Donald Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign in South Carolina has taken a new job as director of business development with Tompkins, Thompson and Brown, a lobbying and communications firm based in Columbia.
“We’ve got a lot going on, and as a business we need to continue getting new clients,” said former Democratic state Rep. Boyd Brown, one of the firm’s partners. “With his contacts and knowledge of how this works, we thought he would be an invaluable asset in our business and growth.”
A communications consultant by trade, Merrill, 52, is tasked with recruiting new clients to the three-year-old firm. He isn’t being hired to lobby, but that could always change as the firm grows, Boyd said.
“I stopped predicting the future a long time ago,” said Merrill, who started at the firm earlier this month. “That’ll be a decision for people well above my pay grade.”
News of Merrill’s new job was first reported by the political blog FitsNews.com.
Merrill has flown under the radar politically since a 30-page indictment was lodged against him in December 2016. It charged Merrill with pocketing more than $1 million as a legislator, taking money from special interest groups and influencing legislation to benefit them.
In September 2017, Merrill pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of misconduct in office, resigned from office and agreed to help the FBI and SLED investigate his former colleagues at the State House. He was sentenced to a year of probation.
The misconduct charge was tied to his repeated failure, while a lawmaker, to report personal income from entities that lobby state government. He also voted on legislation that benefited one of his clients and failed to notify the House Speaker. Special prosecutor David Pascoe said he found no evidence Merrill took a bribe and that Merrill did legitimate communications work for his clients.
Brown noted Merrill has worked in politics all of his professional life and has a knack for identifying businesses and campaigns in need of professional help navigating the State House.
“This is his expertise, and we’re putting him to use in it,” Brown said. “He’s deserving of a second chance.”
Since the indictment, Merrill has continued to work as a communications consultant, putting together advertising and direct mail campaigns.
Asked his thoughts on Pascoe’s State House corruption probe now that his role in it is over, Merrill replied: “I decided a long time ago that reflecting is not quite the direction to go in order to deal with this. I’m far more interested in moving forward.”
Where are they now?
A look at the status of other former state lawmakers and others who were indicted during special prosecutor David Pascoe’s years-long State House corruption investigation.
Pleaded guilty to misconduct and resigned from office:
▪ Former state Rep. Rick Quinn, R-Lexington
▪ Former Senate Education Committee Chairman John Courson, R-Richland
Convicted at trial, awaiting appeal:
▪ Former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison, R-Richland
Still to be tried:
▪ Former state Rep. Tracy Edge, R-Horry, accused of misconduct in office
▪ Richard Quinn Sr., longtime Republican political consultant, accused of perjury.
GOP voice for gun control to step aside
State Sen. Greg Gregory, a moderate Republican from Lancaster, is calling it quits after 26 years in the Senate.
Gregory is best known in the Senate for working with state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, to push for expanded background checks after Dylann Roof was able to purchase the gun he used to kill nine parishioners in a Charleston church. He also is an outspoken Trump critic, a rarity among Republicans in the General Assembly.
Gregory’s announcement comes months after another Republican and outspoken Trump critic, state Rep. Gary Clary of Pickens, announced the 2020 legislative session would be his last.
Gregory plans to use his final year in the State House’s upper chamber to focus on legislation that would give the FBI more time to complete background checks before a gun can be purchased. His previous efforts with Kimpson haven’t been successful.
There is already buzz about his replacement. Fort Mill businessman Tom Nichols, who runs a political action committee that opposes tax hikes and government spending, announced Thursday he is exploring a run and plans to match with his own money the first $30,000 in donations to his campaign.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell, a Lancaster Democrat and the minority party’s 2018 candidate for lieutenant governor, preemptively removed herself from the speculation.
The saying goes that every member of the House secretly wants to be a senator. But the bankruptcy attorney says she is happy where she is after seven years in the lower chamber.
“I definitely won’t be running for the Senate,” she tweeted this week. “I have built up the seniority and committee positions in the House that enable me to help Lancaster County much more where I am than I could as a freshman senator.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
