COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s top prosecutor said Monday that 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 had not risen 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.”
Sanford, 49, said he hoped the state could now move on from what he admitted were his own shortcomings. Sanford paid $74,000 in civil fines 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 called his “soul mate.” The GOP governor’s second and final term ends in January.
