Stay ConnectedThe Week In Review is South Carolina’s most indispensable news program — hosted by the independent media outlet that exposed the Alex Murdaugh crime and corruption dynasty. Each week, we break down the most impactful stories published to our website, FITSNews.com.
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Copyright: © 2023 FITSNews Week in Review
It was a blustery edition of our popular ‘Week In Review’ program as we filmed the show during amid the arrival of Hurricane Ian – which made landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina on Friday afternoon as a strong category one storm. With the exception of some intense coastal flooding and the destruction of the Pawleys Island pier, Ian’s impact on the Palmetto State paled in comparison to the deadly destruction in wrought on Florida three days ago.
More than two dozen people are confirmed dead in the Sunshine State after Ian struck its gulf coast on Wednesday as a category four storm – doing billions of dollars in damage. Meanwhile, more than 1.3 million Floridians were still without power as of Saturday morning.
By comparison, an estimated 65,000 people were without power in South Carolina as of Saturday morning.
In addition to our coverage of the storm, this week brought a renewed focus on the Palmetto State’s "injustice” system - notably the many ethically challenged state lawmakers whose cozy relationships with the judges they appoint continues to corrupt that system.
A pair of lawyer-legislators attempted to defend that system this week after I called out another judge for the unconscionably, inexcusably lenient sentence he doled out to a violent criminal earlier this month.
How did the debate end for these lawyer-legislators? Poorly ... very poorly.
Look for this issue to be addressed more competitively this week when we welcome a special guest to our studios ...
This week also brought another major expansion of the Cheer Incorporated scandal, some significant developments in the 'Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga and a pair of big political stories.
Last week, two of my kiddos stopped by the set of our ‘Week In Review’ program. This week, we were graced by the presence of their beautiful mother – who happens to be the chief executive officer of this news outlet.
A Prussian princess raised on 9 Mile in Eastpointe, Detroit, Katrina Folks brings the accountability to FITSNews – enabling us to hold those in power accountable for their actions (and inactions).
Amazingly, after her visit I still have a job …
As has been the case for the last two weeks, the metastasizing Rockstar Cheer scandal led our weekly coverage – as it seems poised to do for many weeks to come. In fact, on this week’s show I announced that FITSNews is producing a new podcast entitled “Cheer, Incorporated” which will be devoted to the story.
The podcast will be hosted by our research director Jenn Wood and produced by our director of special projects, Dylan Nolan.
Look for the first episode to drop this coming Tuesday (September 13, 2022).
Here are the notes from the rest of the news we covered during yet another hectic week holding people accountable in South Carolina … and beyond.
Last week, I predicted the mushrooming Rockstar Cheer scandal was going to wind up being an even bigger story than the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga.
Turns out I had no idea how much bigger …
Rockstar Cheer went national this week on the strength of a huge federal lawsuit filed by attorneys with the Columbia, S.C.-based Strom Law firm. This lawsuit – filed in U.S. district court in Greenville, S.C. – laid bare the extent to which the alleged abuse at a Greenville, South Carolina cheer studio is part of a national epidemic of sexual exploitation targeting underage cheerleaders of both sexes.
An epidemic the industry not only ignored but facilitated …
After breaking this story wide open last week, our news team covered every step of its escalation this week – including the Greenville press conference which paved the way for the filing of the federal suit (as well as a state-level lawsuit which also targets Rockstar Cheer and several of its alleged industry enablers).
While Rockstar dominated the headlines, it was another huge week for Murdaugh-related news. Most significantly, S.C. circuit court judge Clifton Newman presided over a hearing in Walterboro on Monday morning related to alleged leaks in the murder case against accused killer Alex Murdaugh - as well as the alleged failure of the state to turn over evidence to defense attorneys.
FITSNews livestreamed that hearing, which you can view in its entirety here.
The day after the hearing, things escalated further on the Murdaugh front when agents of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) initiated an expansive search of the Coosawhatchie River and its surrounding areas just south of Varnville, S.C. The search was conducted a mere stone’s throw from the home of the late Randolph Murdaugh III – one of three Murdaughs to hold the post of S.C. fourteenth circuit solicitor between 1920-2006.
According to our sources, the search did not turn up anything of evidentiary value ... but as I noted in our coverage, the specific location of the search could point to the involvement of an “accomplice after the fact” in this high-profile double homicide investigation.
The FITSNews team was in full plague mode this week, with multiple members of the Folks brood catching a nasty case of Covid-19. Despite this, we were able to provide stellar coverage of the multiple Murdaugh developments, abortion legislation debate, a FOIA smackdown, and much more.
I begin the show by breaking down the Murdaugh developments from this week. Alex Murdaugh faces a new round of state financial charges and the feds have ratcheted up their prosecution of Russell Laffitte, who now faces additional charges for allegedly defrauding clients.
If you’d like to understand these financial crimes better I’d encourage you to check out the FITSNews Money Laundering 101 guide.
Earlier this week Murdaugh’s attorney state senator Dick Harpootlian held a press conference slamming the Attorney General’s office for alleged failure to produce evidence and for leaking information.
As house and senate legislators worked to craft abortion legislation this week, I provided coverage of deliberations and arguments at the house judiciary committee, and Will wrote about the potential this legislation has to split GOP legislators.
This week, Alan Wilson went to battle with the state’s second largest school district as he seeks to send a message regarding the sanctity of South Carolina’s open records laws. Wilson sent a scathing letter to the Charleston County school district’s board of trustees regarding their alleged failure to follow state transparency laws.
According to the letter (.pdf), district leaders have “repeatedly violated” the S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by “failing to provide notice of agenda items for meetings.”
Graphic video was released on Tuesday in connection with the death of Jarvis Evans at the R. Eugune Johnson detention center in Laurens, South Carolina last summer.
Evans, 40, was a mentally ill black male who died in a holding cell at the detention center on July 30, 2021 after being repeatedly tased by deputies of the Laurens County sheriff’s office. Evans was arrested by deputies on the evening of July 29 after calling 9-1-1 on himself.
It should be noted that I reference the deputies as Greenville county deputies once in the video, although I correct myself verbally and on-screen, I’d like to take this opportunity to make it abundantly clear that the deputies were employed by the Laurens County sheriff’s office.
Last week, the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga got bumped to the “C-block” – or third section – of our increasingly popular ‘Week in Review’ program.
This week the story roared back with a vengeance … and appears poised to produce even more revelations next week.
As you can see from our show notes (below), it was a huge week for Murdaugh-related news – with multiple breaking stories related to both the civil and criminal cases bearing down on this once-powerful South Carolina legal dynasty.
Special projects director Dylan Nolan, researcher Jenn Wood and myself worked around the clock this week to bring our audience all of the latest Murdaugh coverage – while I kept tabs on the other big stories that broke across the Palmetto State this week (here, here, here, here, here and here, just to name a few).
Dylan also filed a detailed report updating our audience on the latest developments regarding the placement of obscenely graphic, progressive literature in taxpayer-funded school libraries.
Finally, as always, our open microphone was turned up again this week as guest columnist Prioleau Alexander fired off another no-punches-pulled critique of the prevailing herdthink. Alexander’s insightful missive slammed the collective cultural shoulder shrugs we have seen in response to escalating Orwellian overreach and institutional corruption at the national level.
Alexander told me he has another column coming this week that is going to “melt our servers.” So stay tuned for that!
It was another incredibly busy week here at FITSNews – beginning with the bombshell we dropped on South Carolina via our exclusive interview of former Charleston sex worker Lindsey Edwards.
Where is Lindsey’s story headed from here? I delved into that in the first block of this edition of the ‘Week In Review.’
Our show also updated readers on the latest developments in the William Timmons’ affair – notably some curious real estate moves which were executed just days before his office preemptively addressed rumors of an alleged extramarital affair between the congressman and businesswoman/ socialite Paula Dhier.
There was also major news to report from the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga as S.C. circuit court judge Clifton Newman denied a proposed gag order submitted by defense attorneys and prosecutors in the double murder case of disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh.
I discussed Newman’s decision and its implications on this trial … and also gave a hat tip to our news director Mandy Matney for her big story on a settlement reached between Palmetto State Bank, the Parker Law Group (formerly PMPED) and several of Murdaugh’s alleged victims.
Finally, we dove into a campaign to “end the geriatric oligarchy” in South Carolina – a.k.a. the Democratic gubernatorial campaign of former U.S. congressman Joe Cunningham.
Oh, I also teased out the seismic allegations that have been lodged against his newly minted lieutenant gubernatorial nominee, attorney Tally Parham Casey. What sort of allegations? Well, let’s just say this could end up being a very “prickly” situation for the Democratic ticket this fall …
Very prickly indeed …
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