House Ethics Committee gives Harrell more time to make case

The S.C. House Ethics Committee agreed Monday to give former House Speaker Bobby Harrell more time to make his case to the panel about whether it was legal for him to pay his attorneys with campaign money.

The House Ethics Committee had voted unanimously Sept. 1 that Harrell could not use money from his campaign account to pay his attorneys to try to fend off ethics charges. The panel gave Harrell 30 days to pay into the state’s general fund the $113,475 that he spent from his campaign account on two Charleston attorneys.

Harrell missed that deadline and told The (Charleston) Post and Courier that he had no immediate plans to pay the money.

Harrell attorney Mark Peper said Monday the former House speaker needed more time to present his case, arguing the Charleston Republican only had been notified of Monday’s meeting a week ago.

However, House Ethics Committee chairman Kenny Bingham, R-Lexington, said a staff attorney had contacted one of Harrell’s attorneys more than a year ago to inform the former speaker about an advisory opinion concerning the use of campaign money. That opinion warned against using campaign money to pay attorneys in cases involving personal misconduct.

Last fall, Harrell pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor criminal charges of misusing campaign cash, including falsifying trips on his personal plane as government business.

Bingham expects the Ethics Committee to meet next month and hear from Harrell’s attorneys.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 8:56 AM with the headline "House Ethics Committee gives Harrell more time to make case."