S.C. House speaker indicted on misconduct charges

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina House Speaker Bobby Harrell has been indicted by a grand jury on charges related to misuse of his office and campaign finance violations.

The indictments by the Richland County grand jury were announced Wednesday by First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe.

The nine charges against the Charleston Republican are two counts of misconduct in office, six counts of using campaign funds for personal use, and one count of false reporting candidate campaign disclosures.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Harrell should resign.

The indictments are the latest development in a bitter political dispute over how to handle this case that has lasted more than 18 months.

In February 2013, Ashley Landress of the South Carolina Police Council, a political group that advocates for smaller government, filed a complaint against Harrell with the State Ethics Commission. In it, she claimed the speaker used his office for personal gain for both himself and his family.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson asked the State Law Enforcement Division to look into the matter, and referred it to the state grand jury in January.

Harrell believed the initial complaint and the investigation were politically motivated, and sued to have the investigation done by the House Ethics Committee. His attorney also claimed that Wilson had a bias against him, and wanted him removed from the case.

Wilson brought the grand jury investigation against Harrell but ultimately removed himself from the case. The state Supreme Court ruled Wilson had the authority to investigate, overturning a lower court's order that a legislative ethics panel must first weigh in on an ethics complaint.

Wilson turned responsibility for the case over to Pascoe, the chief prosecutor for Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties.

A bond hearing date has not been set. Harrell, who maintains he's done nothing wrong, has not commented yet on the indictment.