South Carolina's top cop endorses quadruple-indicted, judge-ruled rapist and infidelity-obsessed serial fraudster

(Editor’s note: The following opinion piece was submitted by Stockton Duke, a self-proclaimed chief Palmetto political pundit. It does not reflect the opinion of the Travelers Rest Tribune. To submit a letter to the editor, please click here.)

By Stockton Duke, self-proclaimed Palmetto political pundit from the Dark Corner:

South Carolina’s top cop, attorney general Alan Wilson (Republican), on Monday endorsed Donald Trump – an infidelity-obsessed serial fraudster and quadruple-indicted, judge-ruled rapist currently out on bail on more than 90 felony charges, several of which revolve around an attempt to subvert democracy and overthrow the government – for president of the United States at a rally held in Summerville.

That Wilson supports the former, disgraced president is nothing new. Following (then) President Trump’s loss at the ballot box in 2020, something which was confirmed in more than 60 lawsuits across the United States, Wilson joined 16 other attorneys general who contributed to the chaotic political situation by filing questionable legal challenges that without merit cast doubt on election integrity, a dubious move that ultimately went nowhere, but one which Republicans praised regardless.

Grifting with his brother: On Monday, SC top cop Alan Wilson (pictured far right) took time out of his crime-fighting schedule to grift for his brother (pictured far left) while posing with a judge-adjudicated rapist who is ogling a gun he is not legally allowed to possess, something Wilson fails to point out at the time (because he’s got his grift on, of course).

Most recently, Wilson rose to national fame following the successful prosecution of Alex Murdaugh, currently serving life in prison for the murder of his wife and son.

Murdaugh was indicted by Wilson about one year after the murder (and while Wilson’s office was under intense pressure to produce a suspect), with prosecutors painting a picture to grand jurors that Murdaugh’s blood-spattered shirt was the reason he had to be the murderer. Not only did we find out that evidence never existed, the absence of such a blood-spattered shirt was prosecutorial evidence used to convict. (Re-read that sentence. If you are new to the state: My apologies, but this is, unfortunately, how we roll.)

The entire trial, that bellwether of Wilson’s fame, which cost the state of South Carolina a record-setting $488,000, has been called into question, in flux because of alleged improprieties by the judge’s clerk, an enthusiastic, self-proclaimed Christian woman who is alleged to have interjected herself into proceedings she was legally and ethically obligated to avoid, all on an alleged quest to make money off a book (grifters, each and every one).

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And as for trials, our state’s “top cop” ain’t the only one ’round here that knows his way around the good ‘ole halls of justice. Trump, the man Wilson so gleefully endorses, is surely no stranger to courtrooms (or to grabbing women where women don’t want to be grabbed or to lying incessantly or to denying responsibility for any of his actions or to acting like the entitled, unapologetic child he is, or to lying incessantly (sorry for the redundancy, but he lies A LOT, so I thought it best to mention it again), or to walking in on 15-year-old girls in various stages of undress, or to using his finger to pretend he has a gun because he’s not allowed to own the real thing because of the whole 90+ felony charges thing, but, I digress). (Fun challenge to my male readers: Try to find a lady, any lady, that will look at you like Wilson looks at Trump. I bet you cannot.)

But back to Wilson’s beloved beau ideal: Trump is indicted in four criminal cases with four upcoming criminal trials, among others, giving him guaranteed hours to even further study the subtle nuances of our judicial system (the same one that Wilson purports to protect and Trump seeks to destroy, lol) as he sits in his defendant’s chair, instructed by others as to what to do and when to do it. Maybe Trump’s seeming lust for all things courtroom is what sparked that little love interest for him in Wilson’s eye?

Let me be clear: Wilson’s support for law stops where his affinity for all things Trump begins, and in a normal world he would be prevented from holding “top cop” office for that very reason. He shouldn’t be allowed to pretend to support lawfulness while at the same time enthusiastically supporting a man who defies lawfulness. Politics aside, why is that so damned hard to comprehend? Where have we gone so wrong? How far have we fallen? Is there no decency left? Is Donald Trump and all the filth, fraud and foulness that he represents really worth it? Nobody’s looking right now. Ask yourself. Do it honestly. Put everything aside that you’ve been told to believe and look into your OWN heart:

Is Donald Trump and all the filth, fraud and foulness that he represents really worth it? (Study guide below.) To the men who do choose to voluntarily support the filth, the fraud, the foulness: What do you tell your sons at night? Pretend your Lord is watching, whomever you may think that to be. What lessons are you teaching your sons? Do you look them in the eyes knowing of all the indecency you coalesce or do you keep your head down a little, afraid to let them know who you really are?

But back to Alan….Simply put: Alan Wilson shouldn’t be the top cop in South Carolina, but that’s just because he has demonstrated his lack of objectivity for the law, putting his misplaced ego and his misguided beliefs above his obligations. He is a man seemingly more intent on supporting his (anti)hero and furthering his own family’s grift – the campaign stop was held at Palmetto State Armory, of which Wilson’s brother is co-founder, because, of course he is – than with his oath.

(Of note, at least to me – something my mother of all people just reminded me of – these deranged (my word, not hers, Stockton’s mom doesn’t call folks deranged, even when they clearly are, for what it’s worth) people held their Wilson-attended (arranged?) campaign event at the same gun store that sold weapons to the racist Jacksonville, Florida, mass shooter.)

Stop. Re-read that last line. Click the link. What is wrong with these people? For real. Non-rhetorically: What in the actual hell is wrong with these people, for God’s sake? Have they no souls? Are money and guns and power and photo ops truly this important to them?

Alan Wilson should resign. Not that he would, but he should nonetheless, if for no other reasons than: 1) his disgraceful grift/photo op with a judge-declared rapist and failed, serial fraudster seemingly hellbent on destroying the very fabric of the system that Wilson is tasked with protecting (it’s called a conflict of interest), and 2) decency requires it because of reason number one.

What’s next? A photo op with O.J. Simpson holding a Rambo-style knife at a cutlery store Wilson’s brother co-owns? (To be fair, that would make more sense because at least O.J. would be allowed to legally buy the knife.) (But, sure, let’s hold a Trump campaign stop at a gun store where he’s not allowed to buy most of what’s on sale and not pretend it’s really just a grift.) Grifters. Sickening. Just. Sickening.

In a pre-Trump world where decency was a thing, Wilson’s behavior would be publicly denounced and he would be held accountable for the optics of his malfeasance. Maybe our governor will call him out? (Just kidding, of course. Beauregard’s not interested in anything post-Civil War, or so it would seem, something I may expound on later, if given the chance.) Maybe Trump lackey extraordinaire (and aspiring tap dancer ) Lindsey “Gone With the Wind” Graham? (Nah, too busy playing Scarlett O’Hara on his fainting couch, or so I would imagine. )

All this is just my opinion, of course, and it will remain to be seen if any possible Trump convictions, of which I will be so bold as to say there will be many, would put Wilson at odds with his office’s supposed desire to appear to uphold the law and the Constitution, a light we assume our attorney general would want to shine.

And although there is no way of knowing if Wilson would retract his endorsement if Trump was found guilty of any of the myriad crimes he has been alleged to have committed…

…it’s important to remember we are talking about ‘lil alan wilson, a man who will seemingly never let his fealty for his king trump (or his family’s (or his king’s) grift…so much grift.) stand in the way of doing what is right.

[A historical note: In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty is an oath made by a peasant to his lord. “Fealty” also referred to the duties that a servant need to perform…If it fits, Alan, if it fits…]