Columbia, SC—One day after the South Carolina Ethics Commission announced it’s moving forward with ethics charges against Gov. Mark Sanford, the governor said he wants to amend his ethics disclosure form to report private plane flights he had not reported before.

Ethics Commission executive director Herb Hayden says the governor asked Thursday to report the previously unreported flights.

The commission has not released the details of the allegations it’s pursuing against Sanford, but we know it’s been investigating four areas: the governor’s use of state airplanes and whether he used them for family and personal reasons; his acceptance of private plane flights from friends and donors without reporting them on his ethics disclosure forms; his flying in business class on commercial flights taken on state business, when state law requires the use of the cheapest seats available; and his unexplained reimbursement to himself of more than $1,800 from his campaign account.

Butch Bowers, Sanford’s attorney, released a written statement Wednesday night saying, “We feel vindicated that the Ethics Commission’s finding of probable cause is limited to minor, technical matters that do not include any allegations of criminal conduct.“

But media attorney and open government expert Jay Bender says, “I think it’s unlikely that we’re talking about really minor violations. Did you take a plane ride and not report it? Well, the failure to report that is not a minor violation, and if that’s the probable cause, that seems hardly minor to me.“

On Thursday, Bowers issued another written statement on behalf of the governor, saying, “"The Ethics Commission reviewed 772 flights taken by Governor Sanford, and no questions were raised regarding 97% of these flights.  Similarly, the Commission examined 622 of the Governor’s campaign expenditures, and 98% of them were found to be in complete compliance with the law.  We will continue to work with the Commission, and we look forward to the opportunity to finally present our arguments and evidence to the Commission to address the few remaining questions they have.  The results of the Commission’s exhaustive investigation confirm what we have said all along – that Governor Sanford has been a good steward of public resources and has worked hard to ensure his administration adheres to both the letter and the spirit of the law.  In the meantime, in a good faith effort to move forward, Governor Sanford has decided to provide a copy of the Commission’s investigative report to Speaker Harrell next week following the Commission’s release of its notice of hearing.“

But Speaker Harrell criticized the governor Thursday for not releasing the investigative report before next week.

In a written statement, he said, “We are disappointed that Governor Sanford has broken his transparency promise by keeping this court-ordered public document secret.  After claiming to be a leader in the transparency movement and heavily criticizing others on this issue, the Governor’s insistence on secrecy goes against all his past actions on this issue.“

There’s disagreement on when the Ethics Commission’s investigative report can and should be released to the public. The commission gave a copy of the report to the governor’s attorney Wednesday night. Bender says, “If there is a waiver, once the document is released to the governor, it seems to me it has to be released to the public.“ Ethics Commission proceedings are secret unless the subject waives confidentiality, which the state Supreme Court ruled Gov. Sanford did.

The Ethics Commission says it will release details about the allegations against the governor on Monday, when it publishes a notice of hearing in the case. The first hearing will be sometime in January.

During that hearing, three of the commissioners will hear the governor and the Ethics Commission’s lawyer present evidence and call witnesses. If those three commissioners decide Sanford broke the law, he can appeal to the full nine-member commission. It will be up to Sanford to decide whether the hearing will be held in public.

An ethics panel says South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford should face a hearing into potential violations of state law found during a probe into his travel and campaign finances.

South Carolina’s jilted first lady is endorsing a candidate to succeed her husband when the term-limited politician leaves office. Jenny Sanford issued a letter in support of Republican state Rep. Nikki Haley that was made public Wednesday. The first lady is a former Wall Street executive credited with helping her husband’s political rise.

South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford will be recognized as one of this year’s 10 most fascinating people on an upcoming network television special.

South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford will be recognized as one of this year’s 10 most fascinating people on an upcoming network television special.

The first steps to the possible impeachment of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford are expected next week. The SC House of representatives Judiciary Committee’s chairman plans to use a special committee to handle the work.

Governor Mark Sanford has $1.7 million left in campaign money… and he plans to use some of it to pay his legal bills. He’s being investigated by the South Carolina Ethics Commission for his travel and use of state planes. Some of his contributors are upset, but WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, tells us why Governor Sanford, and any other candidate, can use campaign money for legal fees.

The Palmetto States top chief speaks out after getting a ruling from the South Carolina Ethics Committee. Count on our Fraendy Clervaud. He has the story.

South Carolina Supreme Court rules Governor Mark Sanford cannot keep ethics probe into his travel secret. WJBF News Channel 6’s Fraendy Clervaud spoke to Governor Sanford after he made an appearance on the “Austin Rhodes Show”, on Thursday. We have that raw video of the interview.

The winners of the 2009 Governor’s Professor of the Year award were honored Thursday at the State House, in Columbia, SC. Joseph Kasko has more.

According to a press release from Governor Mark Sanford’s office, the Governor, on Wednesday, issued a statement on Boeing Company’s announcement of its plan to establish a second production line for the 787 Dreamliner adjacent to the company’s existing facilities in North Charleston.

According to a press release from Governor Mark Sanford’s office, the Governor signed, on Thursday, into law Senate bill 374, which extends benefits to the unemployed under the stimulus act. The bill passed with unanimous, bipartisan support and was made necessary by an oversight at the South Carolina Employment Security Commission (ESC).

Thousands of South Carolinians who are out of work should have their unemployment benefits extended soon, after action Tuesday by state lawmakers. Lawmakers are back in Columbia for what they hope will be a two-day session, to change state law to qualify for federal money to extend unemployment benefits. About 7,000 people had their benefits run out, last week, because the state had not made the change. State Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter sponsored a bill back in April that would have done it…but it didn’t pass. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

South Carolina lawmakers will not consider a move to impeach Republican Gov. Mark Sanford anytime soon.

State lawmakers are back in Columbia, on Tuesday, to fix an oversight that is keeping the state from extending unemployment benefits. Lawmakers needed to change a state law, to make the state eligible for extra stimulus money from Washington, to extend those benefits. One state lawmaker also plans to introduce an impeachment resolution against Governor Mark Sanford. That’s expected to be sent to a committee,with no further action Tuesday.