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Richmond, Va. — In a shocking development, Ed Gillespie recently announced that he will campaign with South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson — a politician who meddled in a major corruption investigation of one of his key political allies.
“Only Ed Gillespie would think it is okay to campaign with someone accused of abusing his power,” said DPVA spokesperson Kevin Donohoe. “If what was reported is true, Alan Wilson rigged the system in his favor and betrayed the trust of his constituents. Ed Gillespie should be condemning this behavior — not inviting him on the campaign trail in Virginia. If he has any ounce of integrity left, Gillespie will immediately cancel his campaign appearance with Alan Wilson.”
Wilson currently stands at the center of a massive political scandal that has roiled South Carolina politics and raised troubling questions about whether he unethically shut down an investigation in an effort to shield a close political ally. The Post and Courier reported this week that Wilson “enlisted the help of a central figure in the Statehouse corruption probe in an attempt to sideline the case's special prosecutor just as the investigation was about to zero in on Wilson’s close allies.” According to ethics experts, Wilson’s efforts to sideline the special prosecutor investigating Statehouse corruption are “disturbing” and “highly unusual.” Just recently, the FBI joined the Statehouse corruption investigation.
Gillespie’s decision to campaign with a swamp-monster attorney general raises serious doubts about his own commitment to government ethics. Although he has tried to style himself as a good government champion, Gillespie has spent most of his career making millions representing special interests in Washington, D.C. — a chequered career that ledThe Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Jeff Schapiro to call him a “well-fed alligator” in the D.C. swamp.
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