South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford doing weekend Air Force Reserve duty in Florida

SC Gov. Sanford goes to Fla. for reserve duty

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gov. Mark Sanford headed to Florida on Friday for a refresher course with the Air Force Reserves while a South Carolina ethics panel considered whether to investigate his state plane use and his flights on commercial airlines.

Capt. Sanford, as he is known in the Air Force Reserves, was scheduled for a two-day tour of duty at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City in the Florida Panhandle. The governor’s weekend in Florida comes a day after South Carolina’s attorney general called for an ethics inquiry into his travel, which has been under scrutiny since he admitted in June to having a mistress in Argentina.

Sanford spokesman Ben Fox said the governor took “private transportation” to Florida, but he wouldn’t say whether he drove or flew.

Sanford, who joined the Air Force Reserves in 2002, is assigned as a liaison officer between the military and the nation’s civilian leadership in the event of national crisis or an emergency.

“Capt. Sanford is obligated to attend a refresher course this weekend,” said Maj. Susan Romano, a spokesman for the 1st Air Force, which is based at Tyndall.

Sanford’s military duties would not conflict with his position as governor because he would be called to work a crisis that did not affect his state, like a widespread outbreak of wildfires in the West, Romano said.

Sanford’s trip comes amid increased scrutiny over his personal and political travel. After he revealed the affair and an official economic development trip to Argentina where he met with his mistress, Sanford reimbursed the state $3,300 for his travel.

On Thursday, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster asked state ethics commissioners to review Sanford’s use of state aircraft and other potential law violations. The request followed Associated Press investigations that found Sanford often brought along his wife and children on state aircraft for personal and political trips, contrary to state law regarding official use.

In his defense, Sanford has called the AP characterization of some of his flights “misleading” and said they were taken out of context in part because he has used state planes less than his predecessors.

The executive director of the panel reviewing McMaster’s request said commissioners could decide as early as Friday if it will fully investigate the claim.

“Certainly, because of the interest this has received … we’re going to work on it as quickly as possible,” Herb Hayden said.

Meanwhile, a Democratic lawmaker called on four of the nine ethics commissioners to recuse themselves from any investigation because either they or their spouse made contributions to Sanford’s campaigns.

“This is just common sense,” said Rep. Boyd Brown. “They’ve given money to keep Mark Sanford in office. Mark Sanford appointed them to these positions. Having Sanford campaign donors sit in judgment of Mark Sanford — there’s no earthly way that passes the straight-face test.”

Hayden said the commissioners would be impartial and he did not expect them to step aside.

Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.