?A watchdog group has joined the mounting number of political players demanding an investigation of Alvin Greene’s improbable victory in the South Carolina Senate primary. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a statement Tuesday outlining their concerns with Greene, whom they described as “the questionable Democratic candidate for South Carolina Senate.” CREW explains:
In a letter to South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, CREW asked for an investigation into whether Mr. Greene was induced to run for the Senate in violation of South Carolina law. ? ?
CREW also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that primary-winner Greene and three other candidates in the June 8, 2010 Democratic primary in South Carolina: Gregory Brown, Ben Frasier and Brian Doyle and their campaign committees, violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and FEC regulations by failing to file mandatory disclosure reports prior to the election.?
?Melanie Sloan, CREW’s Executive Director, said “The people of South Carolina have a right to fair, transparent and fraud-free elections. Paying candidates to run for office and concealing the sources of campaign funds undermines the integrity of the electoral process and threatens our democracy.”
Last week, House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) alleged that Greene, Brown (his own primary opponent), and Frasier were “plants.” Pointing to these candidates’ failure to file the requisite FEC paperwork about campaign donations and expenditures, Clyburn demanded an inquiry by the US Attorney’s office in South Carolina. Likewise, Greene’s defeated primary opponent Vic Rawl asked that the South Carolina Democratic Party also investigate the results, alleging irregularities in the voting results and other anomalies at the polls. But no proof any shenanigans has surfaced so far, leading some to begin wondering whether Greene might have actually just…won.
