S.C. Gov's AWOL Argentine Affair Sparks Constitutional Discussions
Updated: In fact, Mark Sanford, the South Carolina governor whose whereabouts were unknown for a week, wasn’t hiking the Appalachian Trail, as his staff had earlier suggested. He was in Argentina with his mistress, as he now admits, according to numerous media reports.
And, as news of the affair by the nationally known Republican circled the globe today, the topic of constitutional law discussions sparked by the situation began to shift. Earlier, officials had wondered whether a temporary successor was needed. Now they are discussing the possible resignation or even impeachment of the governor, recounts the Christian Science Monitor.
Under South Carolina’s constitution, state lawmakers have unusually broad removal powers, reports the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
The constitution essentially allows legislators to remove the governor from office by what amounts to a “no confidence” vote, says Alan Tarr of the Center for State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University in Camden, N.J. The vote can be based on any “willful neglect of duty” or “other reasonable cause which shall not be sufficient ground of impeachment.”
Sanford, who had been viewed as a likely contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has stepped down from position as head of the Republican Governors Association over the affair, reports the Wall Street Journal in another article.
After this post was originally published, calls for Sanford’s resignation have snowballed, the Washington Post reported a day later on June 25:
“Every legislator that I’ve talked to except for those on the Republican side doesn’t understand why he didn’t resign yet,” a Democratic state representative, J. Todd Rutherford, tells the Post. “He needs to resign because of the dereliction of duty. It is a problem when the CEO of a 4.5-million-person organization goes AWOL and nobody can reach him. It was a gross dereliction of duty.”
Additional coverage:
Associated Press: “SC Gov. Sanford admits affair after going AWOL”
MSNBC: “Sanford admits affair, apologizes”
Reuters: “Live on Television: U.S. politicians confess sins!”
Wall Street Journal (sub. req.): “S.C. Taxpayers Funded ‘08 Argentina Visit”
Updated June 25 to include information from subsequent Washington Post article and link to subsequent Wall Street Journal article.
