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Charleston, SC -
Governor Mark Sanford is out of the hot seat for now. This after the attention has momentarily shifted from his ethics investigation to Boeing coming to the Lowcountry, but some experts say Sanford will be feeling the heat again soon.
There are two sides to Governor Mark Sanford; the man who admitted to having an affair with an Argentinean woman and there is the victorious governor who sealed the deal on one of the largest economic boosters the state has ever seen.
“There was Sanford at the desk, signing the legislation and all those political actors were around him,” Jeri Cabot, a professor of political science at the College of Charleston, said. “With regard to the Boeing outcome, he looks like the one person in a group that made this happen. He doesn’t look like the instigator.”
Sanford’s role in grabbing Boeing, Cabot says, not strong enough to distract lawmakers and the public from his personal problems. He is being investigated for what happened after he admitted to having an affair and for his use of state planes.
“He was missing for five days, he had an affair, appeared as a hypocrite, said he wanted to be transparent and he wrote a letter to the Ethics Commission,” said Cabot. “Now he’s trying to modify his position with the Ethics Commission.”
Some lawmakers went to the Statehouse this week, intending to begin the impeachment process, but then Boeing took off and that idea got left in the dust.
Cabot says it is just a matter of time until Sanford’s problems resurface. “It’s not going away,” she aid. “The ethics thing is an unfolding saga which the media loves and Sanford can’t control.”
Cabot also says Sanford could be in the clear if he can delay the release of the ethics investigation until January. She says that is when the gubernatorial race will be heating up and the focus will be shifted off of him.
The State Ethic’s Commission says they can send the preliminary results of its investigation to the House of Representatives, but Sanford’s attorney’s still plan to argue the report should be kept confidential.
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