COLUMBIA --- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford took dozens of undisclosed flights on private planes since taking office in 2003 despite a state law requiring him to report who paid for the travel, an Associated Press investigation has found.
The AP discovered 35 flights Mr. Sanford took on private planes that he did not list on state ethics forms or campaign reports. The flights are noted on Mr. Sanford's official calendars, obtained by the AP through a Freedom of Information request.
State law requires elected officials to disclose gifts received in a day worth $25 or more and "anything of value" over the course of a year worth at least $200 "if there is reason to believe the donor would not give the thing of value" but for the public official's position.
Mr. Sanford, under scrutiny since announcing an affair with an Argentine mistress, didn't report the flights because the trips were paid for by longtime friends or political groups, spokesman Ben Fox said. "That was our standard operating procedure," he said.
However, state ethics officials said Mr. Sanford should report all use of private planes, even if friends pick up the tab, just as any other public official is required to do under the law.
Cathy L. Hazelwood, the state Ethics Commission's general counsel, said such flights "need to be disclosed somewhere."
Mr. Sanford used the private planes, including some owned by supporters, to fly around the state for political functions, to attend sporting events with supporters and, at times, to go on vacation with his family, the calendars show. In one 2005 trip, the family took Sanford supporter J.T. Gandolfo's Cessna to the Bahamas for "personal time" and returned on a King Air whose owner was not identified in the governor's records.
Mr. Sanford already is facing scrutiny after the AP reported his use of state aircraft for personal and political trips, and charges to taxpayers for more expensive first-class and business-class flights on state business. Attorney General Henry McMaster and legislators have called on the South Carolina Ethics Commission to investigate the state plane use. And a Republican state senator leading a budget committee concluded from his own review that Mr. Sanford violated state law with the more expensive commercial flights.
Mr. Sanford has said he has gone out of his way to save the state money on his travels and to uphold the law.
The governor's use of private planes falls under state ethics laws requiring disclosure. Ms. Hazelwood said each of Mr. Sanford's trips needs to be looked at with one question in mind. "Are you being asked to attend this function because you're governor? If the answer is yes, there needs to be disclosure there," she said.
Butch Bowers, a Columbia lawyer who advised Mr. Sanford during his campaigns, contended if Mr. Sanford can show that he believed those trips were provided because of his friendship with the owners of the planes, he didn't have to disclose them. "That's inherently subjective, and that subjectivity is necessarily grounded in the person doing the reporting," Mr. Bowers said.
Mr. Sanford frequently used Mr. Gandolfo's planes, records show. In November 2003, he used the King Air to travel to Clemson and Spartanburg for county political events; in August 2005, he used Mr. Gandolfo's Cessna to return from Atlanta after a family vacation, according to Mr. Sanford's office calendars.
Mr. Gandolfo was on vacation Friday and not available for comment, his secretary said.
The governor also used a plane co-owned by Joe Taylor, a friend and supporter who was named head of the state's Commerce Department. In December 2005, Mr. Sanford's calendar shows he flew on Mr. Taylor's plane to return from a Christmas party. Mr. Fox said it was a gathering of friends.
Mr. Sanford also used private planes provided by political groups and the Republican Governors' Association, which he headed until he admitted the affair. Mr. Fox said Mr. Sanford did not personally benefit from those trips and the governor assumed the political groups reported them.
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