Well, he’s resigned. He should have done so before, but now it’s done. Appearing in the protective custody of his sisters, he read the following statement today after his court hearing:
"I would like to say I’m deeply disappointed in myself for the
circumstances surrounding my presence here today due to the personal
mistakes I’ve made in my life."Second most important, I want
to offer a heartfelt apology to the state of South Carolina. To the
people of South Carolina and to my family, I am deeply sorry."Now,
in the best interest of our state, I believe I must resign the position
of treasurer of the state of South Carolina, and I have so informed the
governor."Effective as of today, I do resign. Thank you."
I was struck, as you might as be, by the way this experience has changed the man, as well it might. The raw video I found on the WIS-TV site provides a marked contrast to the know-it-all persona that was his ever-present mask back during the election.
Now the jockeying for the position of Treasurer can begin in earnest. The Legislature reserved the right to come back into session to deal with such an eventuality (anything but leave such a matter in the governor’s hands, you know), although at the moment I’m not sure when that will be.
Thoughts?
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I doubt the sincerity of this resignation and his apology. From the get go, Thomas Ravenel has always put himself first. By resigning, he used the office as a point of leverage with the prosecutors so that they would give him leniency. As in, he has been to rehab and he has shown contrition in his public apology (or his version of it) and then he gave up the office that he loved, now does he still have to go to jail or has he suffered enough? So look at it that way, T-Rav is still looking out for number one. If I were the prosecutors, I would pressure him to give up someone else in order to reduce his jail time. In my book he may have scraped off 5 years, still has the potential for 15 unless he gives up someone else and pleads guity. Then he’ll get 3 and do 15 months in a country club prison.
Apparently, those jockeying for the spot are only elected officials such as Ryberg and Chelis. Is it just me or does anyone else see an inherent conflict of interest in having a sitting legislator run for an office elected by the legislature? Aren’t there provisions that prevent legislators for running for PSC, Judgeships etc.? Why should this be any different?
Isn’t this against the law, and if it isn’t, shouldn’t it be?
The pursuit of Ravenel by state and federal law enforcement probably has as much to do with the fact that he was poised to remove Lindsay Graham from office next election, and threatened to pry the lid off the bankrupt State Retirement System.
Is it possible for a Republican to show any class. A smiling Mitt Romney was caught holding up a sign handed to him by a supporter tha said: “No to Obama, Osama and Chelsea’s Moma”. How can anyone claim the filthy Republican’s are no worse than the Democrats?
That was a rather obtuse way of saying that Obama and Hillary are trying to help Ossama Bin Laden by pulling our military off his back. It goes over the heads of most people.
Lee M, surely you don’t think that a major motivation for federal and state law enforcement agencies’ “pursuit” of Ravenel was a possible campaign against- and perceived, by some, removal of- Sen. Graham. This has one of the more interesting conspiracy theories that I’ve heard lately. State Retirement System- bankrupt, huh? I think I’d rather hear the opinion of qualified actuaries rather than a wheeler-dealer, real estate developer who’s been nailed for distribution of cocaine.
Actuaries and economists already have said that the State Retirement System is bankrupt.
The state has nearly $30 BILLION in unfunded liabilities. Most politicians wanted to sweep it under the rug so they can stay in office.
It is time to have an open discussion about settling up with the soon-to-be retirees, and moving the rest to employees into their own private accounts. The same is true for bankrupt Social Security and the corporate pension plans and GM, Ford and many other companies that made promises they knew were undeliverable.
Just last weekend, my brother in law visited; he was a former Citadel from NC, but promptly moved back to NC (a decision he regrets), anyway…
He had only heard snippets of our Treasurer ‘problems’ and asked me if any of the state’s money was in trouble. I said, no, everything was good on that part.
And he said, “You mean to tell me that you have a State Treas with a coke problem and your money is still OK???!!! You’d better keep that guy in office!!!”
Now that I see it in that light; my bro-in-law is right. I don’t give a mouse’s but about what he does in his private life (but if it has to do with adultery, well, now that’s a different matter. Drug/alcohol use is one thing I care nothing about unless it affects me. As far as I’m concerned, it didn’t harm me a bit. Let him get whatever help he needs and get back to business; but I reckon that won’t happen now…
To all those who want to send him to prison, remember we had a PRESIDENT that lied to the Grand Jury. I don’t give a !@#$ if it was only about his age, that is much more, far more worse than anything Ravenel or Libby did.
BP
Well, let me see if I have this straight. The legislature won’t let the Treasurer become an appointed position in the Governor’s cabinet because, gasp, the voters need to vote for their choice for Treasurer. Now that there is a vacancy to fill the remaining 3+ years of Thomas Ravenel’s term, who gets to vote for his successor? Well, the legislature, of course. Anybody besides me see the irony of this? Our esteemed legislature…..can’t live with them but many times I would like to live without them.
Greg Ryberg for Treasurer: Can you say “fox and henhouse?”
Why on Earth would you say that? I’m sure there are plenty of people who would be good as treasurer, maybe some more qualified — although they’re probably not seeking it.
But I can’t imagine anyone being more careful or responsible with the state’s money than Greg Ryberg. That’s based on actual observation of the man and his behavior.
What is your statement based on, Betsy?
In South Carolina last fiscal year, 97 percent of all federally indicted cases ended in guilty pleas, records show.
“We consider the investigation ongoing,” McDonald said. “If it’s appropriate to add charges, that is something that will be done.”
The way you can get your sentence reduced in the federal system is to plead guilty and to give substantial assistance (to authorities),” said longtime Columbia criminal defense lawyer Jack Swerling.
In South Carolina last fiscal year, the average drug trafficking sentence was about 11 years, compared to seven years nationwide.
Chief U.S. District Judge Joe Anderson, who is presiding over Ravenel’s and Miller’s cases, has a reputation for fairness and staying within the guidelines, Strom said.
“Our judges stick to the guidelines,” he said.
Regarding one of the 1st comments: There are many many folks sitting in jail on drug charges of one sort or another & they are there without the prosecutors ever having to put forth even the tiniest bit of physical evidence. They are there because someone who found themselves in REAL trouble “gave them up”, in order to get a lesser sentence, to the prosecutors who threatened a maximum sentence. The prosecutors then go to each target(someone ‘given up’ by the 1st person) & tell him they have 10 people who will testify that he sold them drugs or bought drugs or whatever the story is & he will get some ridiculous number of years (often 30-40 yrs) unless he just goes ahead & pleads to a lesser charge & then he might get out in 5 or 10 years. And the prosecutors get another feather or maybe 2 or 3 in their cap. So goes the so called war on drugs. Doesn’t anyone wonder why they never seem to catch the really big fish in this drug industry? Surely the authorities know who they are.
By the way, there are no country club prisons. That is truly an urban myth. Some of them seem like a country club in comparison to others. For example most minimum security prison camps would look like the Ritz compared to a medium or maximum security prison, but the Ritz it is not.
Also by the way the prison industry in this country is mostly owned by private corporations who lease out the building, services etc. to the federal,state & local governments. It is a HUGE money generating industry & the fuller the prisons the more money they make. As of this date 32 of every 100 adult Americans is either in jail, been in jail or on probation.