hey Beach Dem!

BREAKING: Trump’s SC campaign director and advisor Jim Merrill just indicted in probe and suspended from office https://t.co/icuCU3HKUf

— Laura (@SheWhoVotes) December 14, 2016

COLUMBIA — State Rep. Jim Merrill was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on 30 counts of ethics violations alleging the Charleston lawmaker or his company pocketed more than $1 million by soliciting or accepting cash from groups with Statehouse legislation at stake.

Sources believe Merrill’s indictment could well just be the beginning of actions resulting from a Statehouse corruption probe led by special prosecutor 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe. More indictments remain a distinct possibility, sources have told The Post and Courier.

Repeated attempts to reach Merrill, a Republican who lives on Daniel Island, were not successful. The indictments accuse him of skirting state laws almost from the time he took office in 2001.

The Post and Courier first raised questions about Merrill’s dealings in a 2012 article that touched on some of the very issues outlined in the indictments. Merrill also figured prominently in “Capitol Gains,” a series the newspaper produced last year with the Center for Public Integrity exploring South Carolina’s loophole-ridden campaign finance system allows state lawmakers to use their campaign war chests like personal ATM machines.

Merrill’s attorneys issued a statement late Wednesday saying Merrill denied the charges. They called the allegations in the indictments “flawed” and noted that he has worked in advertising, direct mail and public relations for more than two decades.