S.C. court rules Sanford probe docs public

COLUMBIA, S.C., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- South Carolina's top court ruled the state's ethics panel must release documents on its probe of Gov. Mark Sanford that were turned over to the governor.

The court's ruling backed House Speaker Bobby Harrell's contention that the documents were public, The (Columbia) State reported Thursday. Harrell, a Republican, asked the court to clarify an earlier ruling on the State Ethics Commission documents.

"This court's opinion of Nov. 5, 2009, unambiguously supports the speaker's position. We therefore order the commission to immediately make public all documents provided to the Governor during the course of its investigation in the underlying matter," the court said in its decision Wednesday.

The decision, moot because Sanford's attorneys released a disputed document, could be precedent for future cases.

The Ethics Commission concluded Sanford may have violated state ethics laws 37 times by using the state plane for personal use, buying expensive airline tickets when state law required low-cost travel and improperly spending campaign funds.

Meanwhile, a House panel considering impeachment charges against Sanford, a Republican, met for the third time Thursday to review charges concerning airline tickets purchases and campaign spending.

Sanford's attorneys have argued the governor's actions were in line with other governors.