The S.C. Ethics Commission (SCEC) will convene June 20 to hear 39 ethics allegations against former Charleston City Councilman Harry Griffin, according to an official notice of hearing filed this week.
Griffin, who served on council from 2017 to 2021, is accused of five counts of failing to disclose campaign contributions, one count of failing to disclose campaign expenditures, 31 counts of using campaign funds for personal use and two counts of excessive cash withdrawals. All told, the ethics allegations accuse Griffin of failing to report between $300 and $542.64 in contributions and more than $7,000 in expenditures as well as transferring more than $11,000 of campaign funds into a personal account between August 2017 and June 2021.
Griffin declined today to comment on the accusations. Griffin is remembered for spearheading an audit into former Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg’s expenses in 2019. It focused on an inexpensive batch of double-sided business cards sporting the mayor’s name and contact information on one side, and his wife’s on the other, labeling her as the, “First Lady” under the city seal. An investigation costing the city more than $50,000 eventually found no wrongdoing, according to media reports.
West Ashley resident Ed Sutton filed complaints regarding Griffin’s campaign expenditures after Griffin’s 2021 election defeat, culminating this week in the SCEC’s hearing notice. Sutton, now a Democratic candidate for S.C. Senate, declined to comment on the complaints earlier today.
Prior to a 2022 decision by the Ethics Commission, whistleblowers who filed complaints accusing S.C. officials of misconduct were barred from speaking about the complaints absent a finding of guilt by the commission. Complainants who violated the rule were subject to misdemeanor charges, up to $1,000 in fines, and up to a year of jail time.
The 2022 change followed a federal lawsuit alleging that gag orders by the Ethics Commission violated free-speech protections. An advisory opinion that the Ethics Commission published in March 2022 held that a closer review of the ethics law determined its confidentiality requirements applied only to the commission itself, not to citizens who file complaints.
Outreach today to the top official at the Ethics Commission was not successful. A staff member directed inquiries to a media email address. The commission had not answered requests for comment as of 5 p.m. April 26.
According to the April 22 notice, the SCEC’s hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. June 20 at the Commission Hearing Room in Columbia. It will be open to the public. A pre-hearing conference may be scheduled prior to the hearing to allow the exchange of witness lists and evidence, marking of exhibits and disposition of motions or pleadings.
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