COLOMBIA – The FBI has joined a spending inquiry by 5th Circuit attorney Dan Johnson, three sources with knowledge of the situation told The Post and Courier.
The FBI is joining the State Law Enforcement Division. A federal agent spoke with officials at Johnson’s office, which processes cases in Richland and Kershaw counties, said the sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
A Post and Courier review of Johnson’s spending records showed that he spent thousands on out-of-state travel, expensive meals and gym membership, among other expenses.
A few hours after the newspaper’s initial report, SC Attorney General Alan Wilson said he asked SLED to examine spending.
The Post and Courier also reported that Johnson paid his brother at least $ 3,000 for a DJ’s Christmas parties and paid the bill for his brother’s flights from Phoenix to Columbia. One of his team assistants charged thousands of dollars on an office credit card for two trips last year to Hopkinsville, Ky. That included $ 1,020 orthodontist bills.
Johnson defended his office, but has so far refused to discuss details about his spending. He and his communications director did not immediately answer questions on Friday.
Johnson, a Democrat elected in 2010 as chief prosecutor for his job with about 9,000 active cases, promised to run for a third term this year.
As of Friday afternoon, he had not filed for re-election and there was no opposition announced. The filing ends on March 30.
The Post and Courier analyzed Johnson’s spending records obtained by Papr.org, a watchdog group of lawyers and former journalists.
The newspaper detailed Johnson’s habit of accumulating thousands in office credit card expenses. Fees included airline tickets to Las Vegas, meals at holiday parties and hotels in South America.
Before charging thousands to hotels in Colombia and Ecuador, Johnson transferred $ 10,000 to his drug bust account credit card from his office, the Post and Courier reported.
The money seized on drug seizures must be spent on efforts to combat drug-related crimes.
Andy Shain and Glenn Smith contributed to this story.
Follow Joseph Cranney on Twitter @joey_cranney.