A member of the House Ethics Committee member says she plans to ask the panel to turn over its investigation of Governor Nikki Haley to the state Attorney General’s Office.
State Rep. Joan Brady (R-Columbia)
Another wants the committee to subpoena sworn testimony from several individuals in a public hearing.
Rep. Joan Brady (R-Columbia) says the public believes the case has become complicated and political. For that reason, she said it should be handled by an independent agency.
But Rep. Laurie Funderburk (D-Camden) — the lone Democrat on the panel– wants the committee to instead hold a public hearing with sworn testimony.
“I believe that sworn testimony will be the only way that the Committee will be able to resolve any ambiguities or ascertain certain information that will help us make informed decisions,” Funderburk said in the letter.
However, Brady said she’s worried the case has evolved beyond the committee’s scope. “We don’t have criminal investigators and we don’t have criminal attorneys,” she told reporters Tuesday, “We’re legislators. We’re not criminal attorneys, ourselves.”
State Rep. Laurie Funderburk (D-Camden)
This has been an unusual situation for the House Ethics Committee which, until a rules change last month, conducted its matters in secret. The committee voted earlier this month to find “probable cause” that ethics violations may have occurred, making the case public. Moments later, the committee dismissed the charges in a 5-1 vote. Two weeks ago, they decided to look back into the matter.
The committee will meet again on Wednesday.
