SC attorney general’s deputy secretly tried to discredit special prosecutor

A top aide to Attorney General Alan Wilson explored ways to discredit special prosecutor David Pascoe personally, politically and professionally, according to emails obtained by The State newspaper.

The aide, Wilson’s deputy chief of staff Adam Piper, sent an email late last week to the chairman of the S.C. Republican Party, asking state chairman Matt Moore to consider using the state Republican Party to besmirch Pascoe.

Pascoe, a Democrat, was appointed by Republican Wilson to investigate allegations of criminal wrongdoing by legislators at the GOP-controlled State House. However, last week, Wilson said he was firing Pascoe.

The email gives a rare glimpse into how political operatives plot no-holds-barred strategies as controversies unfold involving top political officials.

“If there is a way for the party to reveal David Pascoe is (former S.C. Democratic Party chairman) Dick Harpootlian’s Mini-Me/Sock-Puppet/Clone, it would be beneficial for years to come for the (Republican) party,” Piper wrote in an email, sent at 10:58 a.m. Friday on his private email account, to Moore.

In the email, Piper called Pascoe “a Democrat political hack,” saying he has relied on Harpootlian for years.

Moore told The State newspaper Monday that he told Piper, as well as Wilson, on Friday that they should not contact him about any criminal investigation. It is not proper for a political party to interfere with an ongoing criminal probe, Moore said.

“I strongly believe that political parties have no business injecting themselves into an ongoing criminal investigation. We don’t know who is being investigated, how many people are being investigated, and to what, if any, political party they belong,” Moore said. “The investigation should be resolved in the legal system, and this entire matter underscores the need for meaningful ethics reform in South Carolina.”

Wilson could not be reached for comment.

Pascoe said, “No comment.”

For almost a year, Pascoe has been overseeing an investigation into public corruption in the General Assembly. SLED Chief Mark Keel has approved of Pascoe’s investigation, and Circuit Judge Clifton Newman has activated a state grand jury for use in the probe.

Wilson and his office appointed Pascoe to be special prosecutor because potential targets of the investigation might be close to Wilson. In that appointment, Wilson said he firewalled himself off from the investigation.

In an interview Monday evening, Piper expressed regret for the email to Moore, characterizing it as “thinking out loud with an old, very good friend.”

“There was no plot, no scheme,” said Piper, who represents Wilson in the S.C. General Assembly and is paid $80,801 a year, according to state payroll records. “Attorney General Wilson was completely unaware of the personal e-mail I sent to Matt Moore,” Piper said.

Piper said he and Moore have been friends for years, attending each other’s weddings and interacting personally on many fronts. Both also are highly active in Republican politics, exchanging ideas and emails on numerous topics all the time, Piper said.

It was in that informal sense of friendship that Piper said he fired off the email Friday to Moore. The State was given a copy of Piper’s email Monday.

Piper said he was reacting to a March 28 press release from S.C. Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison, criticizing Wilson for his handling of Pascoe.

Pascoe was in the final stages of his criminal investigation into alleged public corruption in the General Assembly when Wilson said March 28 that he was firing Pascoe.

Pascoe’s firing came hours after The State newspaper disclosed Pascoe had filed a civil action in the S.C. Supreme Court charging Wilson with obstructing his investigation.

On Wednesday, Pascoe filed another action in the Supreme Court, asking the high court to determine if Wilson – who had recused himself from the investigation because of conflicts of interest – had the power to fire him.

Harpootlian, a former 5th Circuit solicitor, rebuked Piper on Monday.

“I’m both disgusted and saddened by a member of the attorney general’s office attempting to commit political character assassination on David Pascoe, who is attempting to prosecute what may be one of the state’s largest political corruption cases in years. This is no time for the attorney general or his office to be playing political games.”

In the leaked email, Piper tried to convince Moore to portray Pascoe as Harpootlian’s wind-up toy.

“If you ask folks who know him and know Harpo, they will tell you Harpo brags about Pascoe being his puppet,” wrote Piper.

Piper also said he had an idea for Moore: “Pascoe is tainted for other reasons. He’s a Democrat political hack and Dick Harpootlian’s mini-me who has relied on Harpootlian throughout his career.

“Now, Harpootlian wants Pascoe to run for attorney general again and this is exactly why we need an independent prosecutor who won’t constantly leak things to John Monk,” Piper wrote.

In his email, Piper also quoted a news account with a quote from Greenville attorney Wally Fayssoux, who had opposed Pascoe in a high-profile case involving the shooting death of an African-American man by a former Orangeburg County police chief. In the quote, Fayssoux criticized Pascoe for being ambitious. That suggests Pascoe’s decisions are politically motivated, Piper wrote.

In a telephone interview with The State, Fayssoux, who said he is friends with Pascoe, said the 1st Circuit solicitor is ambitious. But he also is fiercely independent and a competent prosecutor, Fayssoux said.

“If my family was the victim of a crime, there’s no other prosecutor in South Carolina that I would want representing my family and prosecuting the crime than David Pascoe,” Fayssoux said. “No one is more qualified than he.”

In another set of documents made available to The State Monday, GOP chairman Moore rebuked former state GOP executive director Trey Walker for suggesting the state Republican Party should stand up for Wilson in the ongoing controversy over Pascoe.

But in a text message, Moore tells Walker he is staying out of the controversy.“Dude. Don’t throw me under the bus with Alan and Adam,” Moore wrote Walker, now a lobbyist in the private sector.

In the text, sent last Thursday, Walker replied that he “discussed” with GOP political consultant Tony Denny; Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster; the Quinns, a reference to political strategist Richard Quinn, who advises Wilson, and possibly his son, state Rep. Rick Quinn, R-Lexington; and Piper “who was best to pitch you on engaging in this as SCGOP chair.”

“Your old school SCGOP predecessors would have instinctively opened fired (sic) Monday on this whole Democrat driven Harpootlian/Pascoe/SCDOP motivated charade without hesitation,” Walker wrote Moore. “That mentality is how we took (the) majority. But that’s your call now.”

Moore responded: “It’s laughable to think any chairs would run guns blazing to an open criminal investigation. Take off the rose colored glasses man.”

On Monday, Walker declined comment.

In an interview, Tony Denny – a former Republican executive director – said there was no group “discussion.” Walker, who is still active in politics, simply was exploring ways with various individuals to respond to Democratic Party chairman Harrison’s statements, Denny said.

The discussions took place on Tuesday, March 29, a day before Attorney General Wilson held a press conference to explain why he had fired Pascoe.

Wilson’s office has appointed 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson to be special prosecutor in Pascoe’s place. But Johnson has rebuffed the appointment for the time being, saying he wants to see how the Supreme Court rules in the case.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "SC attorney general’s deputy secretly tried to discredit special prosecutor."