news-record.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's top prosecutor said Monday he will not criminally prosecute Gov. Mark Sanford for travel and campaign reimbursements that drew dozens of civil charges and the largest ethics fine in state history.

Attorney General Henry McMaster said the governor's use of pricey airline tickets, travel to personal and political events on state aircraft and questionable campaign reimbursements did not rise to a criminal level.

"Those punishments are sufficient," McMaster said Monday, referring to Sanford's civil ethics charges and censure by state lawmakers. "The time has come for our state to put this controversy behind us and move on."

McMaster for months had been reviewing a probe by the State Ethics Commission that started after a series of Associated Press investigations were published about Sanford's use of state, private and commercial planes. The state probe led to 37 charges and $74,000 in civil fines that Sanford paid in March.

The scrutiny started when Sanford disappeared last June, returning after five days to admit to an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman he later called his "soul mate."

The Republican governor's second and final term ends in January. A judge approved Sanford's divorce from his wife in March.

State lawmakers used the ethics investigation as the basis for a formal rebuke of Sanford after deciding the charges didn't merit impeachment. Lawmakers kept the door open to that if McMaster came forward with criminal accusations.

McMaster is one of four Republicans seeking to replace Sanford. The prosecutor had faced recent criticism from his three GOP opponents for the time it was taking him to release the results of his investigation.

Sanford thanked McMaster later Monday for the investigation.

"I would thank again the attorney general for his deliberate approach," Sanford said. The official and media investigations "showed, while I certainly have faults that have been more than well-chronicled, one of them wasn't watching out for the taxpayer — that we've consistently tried to watch out for the taxpayer."

While McMaster closed the book on the issue, "it is important that we all move on in South Carolina."

McMaster's critics have said he should have appointed an independent prosecutor, but he said last week his office can prosecute fairly even in cases of people it knows. And on Monday, McMaster said: "In the end, it is always the attorney general that must make prosecutorial decisions."

The Republican primary in the governor's race is June 8.

McMaster said his investigation began with reviewing 3,000 pages of documents from the State Ethics Commission investigation shortly after it was made available in November. He completed it last week.

The investigation included eight interviews with Sanford aides, state and Republican National Committee officials and Sanford's lawyer. McMaster wanted Sanford interviewed, but he refused.

McMaster was critical of some of Sanford's travel, including mixing use of personal travel with the official use of state aircraft. "The kinds of personal legs do violate the spirit of the law, but they do not violate the letter of the law," McMaster said.

He called on legislators to amend state law to eliminate ambiguities and make travel and campaign account restrictions more clear "so we won't be in this position again."

Meanwhile, McMaster said the inquiries into Sanford's practices should be instructive to other state officials until the Legislature clarifies laws. "These planes are not meant for personal business or personal pleasure. They're paid for by the taxpayer," McMaster said.