Lt. Gov. McMaster: Ethics violation was an ‘innocent mistake’
MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (AP/WCIV) – South Carolina’s No. 2 elected official addressed charges against him while speaking to a civic group Thursday. Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster made a trip to Moncks Corner to talk to the Rotary Club. During his speech, he said that he did break state ethics laws, but he didn’t mean to. The state Ethics Commission says McMaster’s campaign illegally took in over 70 thousand dollars during his failed run for governor in 2010. “Essentially, it was an innocent mistake,” he said. “We thought we were doing it right and that’s why we did that. No money’s been lost and everything went the way it was supposed to. There’s no money missing, nothing spent on anything it wasn’t supposed to be spent on. It’s just that we collected too much money from some people. They willingly gave it because they thought it was okay to do too. But that’s gonna work out fine.” McMaster’s attorney said the money went toward paying off campaign debt. He’s due in court for a hearing next month. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ABC News 4 contributed to this report.
