Former Charleston councilman accused of 39 ethics violations by state committee

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — A controversial former Charleston City councilman is under investigation by the South Carolina State Ethics Commission for 39 allegations of improper handling of campaign funds.

Edward Sutton filed a complaint against Harry J. Griffin on Aug. 26, 2021, saying Griffin used campaign funds from his 2017 city council campaign to buy advertising for his 2019 mayoral campaign, which is against South Carolina law.

After review, the state ethics commission found 39 counts regarding allegations of misuse against Griffin, which are:

• 31 counts of use of campaign funds for personal use, violates section 8-13-1348
• 5 counts of failure to disclose campaign contributions, violates section 8-13-1308
• 2 counts of excessive cash withdrawal, violates section 8-13-1348
• 1 count of failure to disclose campaign expenditure, violates section 8-13-1308

According to the notice of hearing filing, Griffin’s formal hearing for the accusations will be June 20 at the Commission Hearing Room in Columbia. In the documents, Griffin allegedly transferred over $11,500 of campaign funds into a personal account from 2017 to 2021.

If found guilty of the violations, Griffin could face paying $78,000 or $2,000 for each count.

Griffin was the subject of numerous controversies during his single four-year term as District 10’s councilman.

In 2020, thousands signed an online petition calling for Griffin’s resignation from city council. The petition came about after Griffin was associated with a rally held by several far-right groups, including the Proud Boys.

Griffin addressed this controversy in an apology letter, saying he agreed to speak at the rally, thinking it was for the city’s recent proposed tax raise.

He said when the “theme of the event had changed significantly,” he decided against speaking at the rally as he did not support the event.

During his tenure as councilman, Griffin was also arrested and charged with a DUI in 2021; however, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office later dropped that charge.

Griffin did run for a second term as a representative of District 10 citizens but was defeated by current councilman Stephen Bowden .

News 2 left a message with Harry Griffin asking for comment. This story will be updated upon reply.

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