Today Rep Jim Merrill (R-Berkley), who is the Majority Whip in the South Carolina State Legislature was indicted on 30 counts of Ethics Violations with two of those counts being Misconduct in Office. The heart of the indictment is Merrill’s accepting close to $600,000 from various groups in exchange for influence on Committees that Merrill was a member of, or Chaired. The investigation is ongoing as SLED has confirmed 40 former or current House Members are under investigation for corruption. This may be the only indictment from the 24 month investigation, or it could be the first in a long line of indictments. Only time will tell.

This has been a long and all ensnaring investigation that lead the SC Attorney General Alan Wilson, the son of Congressman Joe Wilson recused himself and appointed 1st District Solicitor David Pascoe to pursue the case, only to try and take the investigation over once again. The SC Supreme Court ruled that David Pascoe has sole prosecutorial discretion in the investigation and subsequent charges. The SC House is dominated by Republicans holding 78 seats, and Democrats holding 46. However should most of the 40 under investigation turn out to be Republican, this could reshape the State House for generations.

Developing…