Pascoe battles against indicted Sen. John Courson's bid to dismiss S.C. Statehouse corruption charge
Special prosecutor David Pascoe filed legal papers Friday aimed at derailing suspended state Sen. John Courson's bid to dismiss political misconduct charges against him in the Statehouse corruption probe.
In his motion, Pascoe derided the veteran lawmaker's arguments for tossing the ethics charges, describing Courson's legal stances as absurd, misguided and wrong.
Courson, a 72-year-old Columbia Republican, is accused of funneling nearly $250,000 in campaign cash through political consultant Richard Quinn's firm and and receiving $133,000 back for personal use. Courson has been suspended from office while he fights the allegations.
He had argued in court papers that Pascoe had no legal right to file charges against him because the special prosecutor's authority was limited to cases involving two other lawmakers mentioned in a State Law Enforcement Division report. He contends Pascoe should have referred any other alleged violations to Attorney General Alan Wilson's office or the 5th Circuit solicitor in Columbia.
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