Apology time, Rep. Clyburn: Alvin Greene’s candidacy was funded by both US & SC state govts
Hot off the presses:
Alvin Greene, the obscure jobless man whose come-from-nowhere victory in the June Democratic primary for U.S. Senate created a national furor, had legitimate sources of income to pay his $10,400 primary entry fee, law enforcement sources said Friday.
He will not, according to SLED, face criminal deception charges for requesting a taxpayer funded attorney in a still pending criminal case against him.
State law enforcement officials wrapped up an investigation of Greene’s finances after questions were raised about how he could qualify for indigent defense and afford to pay more than $10,000 to seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
Greene’s surprise June 8 upset victory over former circuit judge Vic Rawl initially caused many to speculate Republican operatives had secretly bankrolled Greene’s primary entry fee to sabotage the primary. Rawl’s defeat left Greene the Democratic challenger to U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.
The source of Greene’s money is none other than the U.S. government and the S.C. state government, said SLED director Reggie Lloyd.
“That’s who bankrolled Greene’s entry fee for the primary,” said Lloyd, whose agency worked with 5th Circuit Solicitor Barney Giese in the investigation. “The U.S. government and the state of South Carolina funded his filing fee.”
[…]
Lloyd said SLED investigators came away convinced that Greene had no ulterior motives in running for the U.S. Senate.
“He just wholeheartedly believes he wants to run for Senate,” Lloyd said.
As far as where the unemployed Greene got the money to run for Senate, and whether he lied to get a public defender, Lloyd said, “He is clean. He did nothing wrong, and he answered all our questions.”
[…]
In its investigation, Lloyd said, SLED had access to all Greene’s checking and savings accounts.
Those monthly statements showed Greene, 32, had a monthly balance last fall of several thousand dollars in his Bank of Clarendon checking account in Manning, Lloyd said.
Last October, Greene received a $5,843 check from the U.S. Department of Defense in connection with his discharge from the military last year.
“That brought him up to more than $8,200,” Lloyd said.
Greene continued having a checking account balance of about that amount into March, when Greene received a federal income tax refund of $2,173 and a state tax refund of $932, Lloyd said.
“At that point, he had more than $11,400 in his account,” Lloyd said.
Of course, this investigation was prompted by grumblings by several prominent Democrats in the state of South Carolina – including the 3rd highest ranking member of the US House, Rep. James Clyburn (SC-6) – who were ridiculously suggesting/hinting/insinuating that Greene was a “Republican plant” because of the fact that he, as an unemployed man, would have “had to have gotten that filing fee from someone.”
It should also be pointed out that in addition to Greene being cleared over the filing fee issue, just a week after his surprise nomination win SC state Democrats nixed a challenge by his primary opponent Vic Rawls over lack of “sufficient evidence” of voter machine tampering – yet another allegation leveled against Republicans by Clyburn and others:
South Carolina Democratic Party officials on Thursday upheld a surprising U.S. Senate primary win by an unemployed military veteran, nixing a protest lodged by their favored candidate that could have required a new vote.
The party’s executive committee decided there was not enough evidence of impropriety to nullify the June 8 election victory by Alvin Greene, 32, who lives with his father and waged no visible campaign against a former lawmaker.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for an apology from Clyburn nor any other Democrat in the state who made such accusations against Republicans because that would be expecting Democrats to do the right thing, a rarity in modern times.
So, we’re back to square one: Apparently a majority of SC Democrats really did – as many of us suspected – vote for Greene for reasons (scroll) other than knowing who he is because, at this point, people in SC still don’t know who he is. What does that tell you about the SC Democrats who voted for him?
Oh well. Greene won’t raise much, if any campaign money in his underdog bid to defeat Senator Jim DeMint, but he might be able generate some cash, that is, if he’s able to go forward quickly with producing those Alvin Greene action figures he proposed in an interview earlier this week as a solution to boost the economy and “bring jobs to South Carolina” …
(Photo courtesy: AP/Mary Ann Chastain)
Related:
- The State – Newt Gingrich assails Obama, praises Nikki Haley at SC GOP luncheon
- Charleston Post & Courier – Gingrich backs Tim Scott candidacy (SC-1) at fundraiser