Latest news with #OperationLostTrust
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Solicitor switches from Democrat to Republican, confirms he's considering AG run
Longtime Democratic Solicitor David Pascoe announced he was switching to the Republican party on Thursday, April, 10, 2025 at a Dorchester County GOP meeting. (Photo by Shaun Chornobroff/SC Daily Gazette) SUMMERVILLE — A longtime Democratic solicitor announced he is switching to the Republican Party, which comes as he mulls a run for attorney general. David Pascoe, the chief prosecutor for Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties, told a crowd of around 60 people that he 'can no longer in good conscience wear the label Democrat.' After his 10-plus minute speech that was preceded by praise from a Republican legislator, sheriff and another solicitor, Pascoe confirmed to reporters that he is contemplating a bid for attorney general. 'I'm strongly considering a run,' he said outside the Summerville Country Club. 'Having seen what goes on in Columbia … and seeing what goes on there today motivates me.' Pascoe is the first to publicly say he's considering a bid for the statewide office expected to be wide open for the first time in 16 years. Republican Alan Wilson, first elected attorney general in 2010, has said he's seriously considering a run for governor, meaning he'll likely be vacating the seat. Pascoe said Wilson's decision will have no bearing on whether or not he runs to replace him. 'When I make a decision to do something, it's never based on somebody else. It's based on what I want,' he said. Pascoe, first elected solicitor in 2004, has gained bipartisan respect over the last two decades. In 2014, it was Wilson who handed Pascoe a case he expanded into the largest Statehouse corruption investigation since the FBI's Operation Lost Trust. That 1990s case resulted in 27 convictions, including 17 legislators and seven lobbyists. The probe broadened by Pascoe — despite Wilson's attempt to fire him — ultimately brought down a GOP powerbroker and six Republican legislators, though only one went to prison as a result of Pascoe's investigation. Others resigned as part of plea deals, received probation and paid fines in the prosecution completed by another solicitor after the state Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that Pascoe had exceeded his authority. 'They violated our public trust,' Pascoe said Thursday. 'They deserved to be removed from office and face the repercussions that they got.' Pascoe said corruption and selfish representation continues at the Statehouse by legislators from both parties. In explaining his decision to switch allegiances, Pascoe said being a Democrat hadn't felt 'like home' in a long time. He didn't desert the party; it deserted him, he told potential GOP primary voters at the Dorchester County Republican Party meeting. Characterizing himself as a tough-on-crime prosecutor who supports Second Amendment gun rights and opposes abortion, Pascoe said he could no longer support a party that stood for the opposite. Yet, Pascoe endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 and even made the eventual president the special guest at his annual oyster roast in January of that year. When asked by reporters about that endorsement, Pascoe said Biden assured him ahead of time that he appreciated 'hard-nosed prosecutors' like him. Pascoe says he later learned that was a false claim. It was on Dec. 23 — when Biden commuted 37 federal death penalty sentences to life in prison — that Pascoe said he knew he needed to change his allegiance. 'I cannot comprehend the disregard for victims and their feelings that has to go through another person's heart or brain to have someone from the Department of Justice call those family members, loved ones, and tell them that the person that murdered their daughter, their loved one, their sister, their mother, is having their sentence commuted tomorrow,' Pascoe said. He told the crowd he knew Democrats weren't happy with him. Minutes after his speech ended, state Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain released a statement alleging that Pascoe's decision was made solely to help his chances for attorney general. 'Who are you fooling David? Do you think South Carolina Republicans are going to let a 20-year Democratic solicitor who suddenly has a change of heart be their nominee for attorney general?' the statement said. 'We trust his new political home will embrace his long-held Democratic values with the same enthusiasm — or at the very least, Google them,' she continued. The statement ended by saying: 'When the South Carolina GOP primary voters reject you in 2026, don't expect the voters in Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg to allow you to keep your job.' Pascoe's announcement came one day before one of the men he prosecuted and sent to South Carolina's death row, Mikal Mahdi, is set to be executed by firing squad. SC Supreme Court declines to stop upcoming execution Mahdi pled guilty to a pair of 2004 killings that were part of a multi-state crime spree. After stealing a car and a gun in Virginia, Mahdi shot Christopher Boggs, a gas station clerk, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He continued south, where he carjacked a man in Columbia before fleeing to Calhoun County. There, he shot Orangeburg Public Safety officer James Myers with his own gun, then set his body on fire and stole his police car. Pascoe said Thursday he was asked by media at the time if he would cut a deal that would avoid the death penalty. 'I told them that I will show the same mercy for Mr. Mahdi that he showed his victims. None,' Pascoe said. Pascoe was praised Thursday by other Republicans for his record of seeking justice. Rep. Joe White of Newberry County, Dorchester County Sheriff Sam Richardson, who Pascoe has previously endorsed, and Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, the chief prosecutor for Charleston and Berkeley counties, all said Pascoe embraces the values of the party.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Distinguished Charleston attorney Gedney Main Howe III dies; funeral service to be held Friday
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A Charleston attorney who worked on some of the most notable cases in South Carolina passed away last week, according to his obituary. 78-year-old Gedney Main Howe III died peacefully on March 21, surrounded by his family, a post from his son Gedney Howe IV states. Earlier posts said Howe III was suffering from pneumonia, which caused severe complications to his existing pulmonary fibrosis and Parkinson's Disease. His funeral service will be Friday in Second Presbyterian Church, 342 Meeting Street, at 11:00 a.m. Born in Charleston, Howe III was introduced to the legal field at a young age. His father, Gedney Main Howe Jr., practiced for 60 years, 10 of which were spent as the 9th Circuit Judicial Solicitor. He earned his undergraduate from the University of South Carolina and his law degree from the USC School of Law. Through the course of his career, Howe III worked on numerous high-profile cases, including representing the South Carolina State Senate twice, defending former state treasurer Thomas Ravenel, and winning a personal injury suit while representing a longshoreman who was crushed after a shipping container fell on his vehicle. The settlement of $13.2 million for Longshoreman Michael Clarkin is the largest in state history. He also represented SC Rep. Tim Wilkes in the fallout of Operation Lost Trust. The 1990 FBI sting saw 28 state legislators and lobbyists indicted for accepting cash and bribes in exchange for votes. Rep. Wilkes was the official charged that ended up not being convicted. 'Beyond the practice, Gedney cherished so many close relationships with friends and mentors from all over…,' his obituary reads. 'When Gedney finally settled down, his children became the center of his world.' He is survived by his two sons, daughter, grandchild, brother, and partner in crime. For additional information, click the link below. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
