South Carolina Attorney General talks opioid crisis, human sex trafficking and false emails circulating through State Capital

AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson addressed the Aiken Republican Club on Tuesday.

The nation’s youngest elected Attorney General is up for re-election this year.

South Carolina’s 51st AG Alan Wilson tells WJBF NewsChannel 6 he’s hoping to serve another term.

Wilson hit the campaign trail in Aiken to discuss the opioid crisis that’s crippling the nation and his work to expose human sex traffickers.

While in office, Wilson has headed the state’s Human Sex Trafficking Task Force. It’s grown from 12 members to more than 300 since it was started.

Last year, the task force successfully prosecuted 59 Human Sex Trafficking cases.

“Before 2012, South Carolina was one of the worst states in the country on how we enforce Human Trafficking laws on the books.” Wilson said. “In 2012, we passed a Human Trafficking Act as well as a few years later added some additional laws that made us one of the best states in the country.”

South Carolina ranks 9th in the country for the number of opioids being prescribed by physicians.

The AG’s office has filed a lawsuit against one of the largest manufacturers of Oxycontin in the U.S.

“What people need to understand is bringing a lawsuit is not going to fix the opioid epidemic, or crisis, we were not under that illusion,” said Wilson.

Wilson says right now there’s only one law enforcement officer in the state dedicated to investigating pill mills.

While he believes more resources could be put towards the opioid epidemic, he also believes in preventative measure such as having age-appropriate conversations with young people.

“Getting these kids and educating them on the front end is where we really need to focus our efforts,” he said.

Wilson also addressed a number of complaints, filed by lawmakers, about fake emails they’ve received regarding the ongoing nuclear energy debate in South Carolina.

The Attorney General’s office is calling on SLED to investigate emails circulating through the State Capital.

The emails allegedly urge legislatures to support the proposed sale of SCANA to Dominion Energy. SCANA is one of the companies behind the failed 9-billion dollar VC Summer nuclear project.

Dominion Energy says they condemn the people behind the false emails.Statement from Dan Weekley the Vice President and General Manager – Southern Pipeline Operations for Dominion Energy:

In last few days we have become aware of people sending false emails to South Carolina legislators regarding the ongoing energy policy debate and our proposed merger with SCE&G and SCANA. Just like you, we are deeply troubled by them.
We have worked from the beginning to be open, transparent and direct in communicating about our proposal. We think the people of South Carolina deserve nothing less.
Please let me be absolutely clear: Dominion Energy had nothing to do with these false emails. This is not how we do business. We condemn those who are behind this sub rosa effort in the strongest possible terms.
We believe law enforcement agencies should investigate these false emails. There is no room in honest public discourse for these kinds of tactics. The more we have come to understand the facts leading up to this intentional misrepresentation, the more it becomes clear it was a deliberate attempt to discredit our proposal.
As you may be aware, Dominion Energy has been a member the Consumer Energy Alliance for a number of years. We and the 240+ other CEA members – including several organizations from South Carolina and utilities around the country – are listed on the organization’s web site. The group advocates for affordable and reliable energy around the country.
When CEA approached us offering assistance in communicating the need for energy stability across South Carolina we welcomed their help. Further, we appreciate and support CEA’s filing today asking the South Carolina Attorney General to open an investigation into the falsified emails.
Dominion Energy will continue to communicate openly, honestly and directly about our proposal and why we believe it is in the best interests of SCE&G customers and the state.

“What exactly is being written in those emails?” Asked NewsChannel 6’s Stefany Bornman.

“At this point its an ongoing investigation, so I can’t comment on it.” Wilson told WJBF NewsChannel 6. “As of yesterday we put that request into the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. I spoke to the Chief of SLED as well as members of the House who were concerned about that… they’ve sent us a formal request, but we’ve already asked SLED to look into it and we are going to wait and see what they provide us. Then we’ll look at the evidence and make a decision on how to move forward.”

Wilson says if any state laws were violated, he will make sure the originators of the emails are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Wilson is opposed by two other Republicans – State Representative Todd Atwater and William Herlong.