A South Carolina legislative panel on Tuesday delayed a decision to move forward on a House resolution pushed by some conservative Republican legislators to try and impeach an elected Midlands-area solicitor.
But the House Judiciary subcommittee, by a split voice vote, voted to recommend retaining and giving former 13th Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins full discovery and investigative authority to in large part inquire whether the House even has the power to impeach an elected solicitor under the state Constitution.
Additionally, the recommendation asks that the House Judiciary Committee grant the chairman the authority to assist with subpoenas and discovery-related matters.
In this case, the focus is on 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson, an elected Democrat whose circuit covers Kershaw and Richland counties.
"Walt's background and aptitude make him uniquely qualified for this task," House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, said from his motion Tuesday as Wilkins sat nearby.
The Judiciary panel held the unprecedented hearing Tuesday at the request of the resolution's lead sponsor, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jordan Pace, a Berkeley Republican, who invoked a House rule that requires a bill or resolution to be placed on a committee agenda.
"This is a very serious endeavor, and not something we took lightly," Pace said Tuesday. "... This is fairly unprecedented. To my knowledge, no solicitor has ever been impeached in South Carolina history."
The resolution — H. 4564 — is specific to Gipson and specific to a 2023 matter over the early release of convicted murderer Jeriod Price in Gipson's circuit.
Price, who was serving a 35-year sentence for the 2002 murder of Carl Smalls Jr., was released 16 years early from prison after helping law enforcement in another case. That help led to a reduced sentence through a secret agreement signed by Gipson, the prosecutor; Price's attorney, House Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland; and then-Judge Casey Manning, who neared retirement.
No formal, public hearings were held.
And Smalls's family was kept in the dark.
The state Supreme Court later revoked that deal, and Price was returned to prison.
Due to a conflict, the family could not attend Tuesday's hearing.
Pace read a letter from the family in their absence.
"Our family was wronged by the solicitor, and we are willing to lend our voice in any effort to have him impeached," the letter said.
Though the impeachment inquiry was about the Price case, Gipson's critics — they include GOP candidates for governor Congressman Ralph Norman and Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who have called on Gipson to resign — have also seized on the high-profile case of Logan Federico, a 22-year-old from North Carolina, who was shot and killed last year inside of a Columbia home while visiting friends.
Federico's father, Steve, who attended Tuesday's hearing but did not speak, has called for federal prosecutors to take over the case. In October, Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is also running for governor, called on Gipson to seek the death penalty.
Speaking to reporters briefly after the hearing, Gipson defended his office, pledging to continue seeking justice.
Gipson said he's kept in communication with Federico's parents.
"I respect the process and the role it plays in maintaining public trust in our justice system. Public trust matters, and accountability is essential to maintaining that trust," Gipson said, in part, later in an official statement.
He added, "It is equally important to be clear about what is at stake. The independence of prosecutors is a cornerstone of our system of government. Prosecutorial discretion exists to ensure that decisions are guided by the law, the facts, and the pursuit of justice. Any effort that weakens that independence risks undermining the very structure that protects the fairness and integrity of our courts."
Despite these cases, no matter how questionable, former and current solicitors told the panel that the House does not have the authority to impeach solicitors.
"As far as impeachment is concerned, it's unconstitutional, that's why it's unprecedented," 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said Tuesday.
The governor can suspend solicitors from office after an indictment.
Duffie noted Gov. Henry McMaster did just that in 2018, when he suspended Gipson's predecessor Dan Johnson, after Johnson was indicted on public corruption charges.
House Rep. Tommy Pope, a York County Republican and former solicitor, echoed the same as Stone.
"I think it's unconstitutional," Pope said, calling the House resolution a "slippery slope" that would set the House Judiciary Committee up for "just impeachment business."
McMaster's office disagreed.
“Solicitor Gipson has created this lack of public confidence through his own prosecutorial actions or inactions," the governor's office said in a statement Tuesday. "The governor believes the people of this state have given the General Assembly sufficient constitutional authority to remove executive branch officials when extreme circumstances warrant.”
State Rep. Justin Bamberg, a Bamberg Democrat and an attorney, likened the Tuesday hearing to Washington, D.C.-style politics.
"We're here, in part, because of politicians who have illegitimate desires, ... (and are) willing to play with peoples' emotions and use them to try and win some election," he said.
The recommendation will go next to the full House Judiciary Committee.
Judiciary Chairman Newton told reporters he expected Wilkins to complete his inquiry as quickly as he can.
Separately, the House Judiciary subcommittee on Tuesday also agreed to delay a vote on H. 5133, sponsored by Rep. Robby Robbins, a Dorchester Republican and former solicitor, that would set up a special eight-member commission to make recommendations to the governor over the discipline, removal or involuntary retirement of a circuit solicitor.
Should the governor agree to remove or push a solicitor to retire, the bill states that person would be unable to run for solicitor for a period of 10 years from their exit.
"We need to examine, legally, what we are allowed to do, but I don't think we can impeach a solicitor," Robbins said. "But I think we can establish a system, and a process that gets us out of the equation and puts people appointed by the governor ... who can examine these cases and make correct calls, and it takes the House and the Senate out of the equation."
