As reported by Brian Hicks with the Post and Courier:

When will Amy Kovach’s long national nightmare be over?

Jul 3 2015 6:01 am

Amy Kovach probably won’t have much Independence Day spirit this weekend — not seeing as how the state is threatening her with 20 years.

The Berkeley County School District communications director, who has been on leave for a year and a half, goes on trial in September for a myriad of charges stemming from the district’s 2012 bond referendum to build new schools and rehab some old ones.

At press time, Kovach faces five separate charges — we have to say that because the Attorney General’s Office seems to indict her for something new every few minutes.

Right now, Kovach is facing as much prison time as a convicted murderer over a stupid three-year-old political campaign.

Or is it just plain ol’ politics?

In February 2014, a grand jury indicted Kovach on a misdemeanor ethics violation. She was charged with spending public money to influence the outcome of an election. Kovach said she was innocent.

Seven months later, she was hit with a felony forgery charge — prosecutors claimed she was monkeying with public records to cover up her crimes. She said not guilty.

So last week, Kovach was hit with three more charges. And now prosecutors are predicting a marathon trial.

This isn’t Watergate, folks.

This is ridiculous.

Punishment fits?

2012, Berkeley voters approved a $198 million bond referendum to build and fix up schools. The vote was 2-to-1 in favor, a pretty good showing.

This didn’t go over well with some folks. So a few anti-bond types asked the Attorney General’s Office to investigate because it appeared the district was coordinating with the Yes 4 Schools campaign. And that’s against the law.

 

Now, no one would argue that Berkeley County schools haven’t seen their share of controversy. But, truth is, every school district that holds a bond referendum is charged with this kind of stuff. And honestly, how are people supposed to get information about what a bond is supposed to pay for if the district doesn’t provide the information?

The opponents claim, however, that Kovach took it just a little too far.

But it may be the nattering nabobs and the prosecution doing that.

A few years back, a Florence County schools superintendent actually spent public money to distribute fliers in his schools promoting a bond referendum — which is a much more blatant campaign-law violation than anything Kovach is even accused of doing.

You know what happened? The district was told to not pull that sort of thing anymore and fined $50.

Fifty dollars.

So why is Kovach suddenly Mata Hari on the firing line?

At any cost

It doesn’t take much to imagine that Kovach is being pressured here.

She has had charges piled on top of charges, and even had the AG’s office trying to pressure the school board to stop paying her legal fees.

That’s hardball.

To a lot of people, this looks like prosecutors desperately want her to strike a plea bargain or rat out her superiors. Which is funny because, if any law was broken, shouldn’t the state go after the person who orchestrated it — and not the employee who was simply following orders?

Superintendent Rodney Thompson was indicted in April on a misdemeanor ethics charge related to the campaign. But the buck evidently stopped before it got to him, based on the way this is playing out.

Kovach attorney Jerry Theos filed a motion earlier this year claiming the AG’s office was “intent on convicting Mrs. Kovach at any cost” and asked the court to appoint someone else to handle the prosecution. A few months later, his client is hit with three new charges.

Is there a connection? The Attorney General’s Office says no.

“The defense lawyer’s comments about this office’s prosecutorial decision-making are absolutely false,” says J. Mark Powell, communications director for the attorney general. “We are bound by ethical rules from commenting on the facts of the case itself. That is why it’s important for the public to attend court proceedings to hear the facts.”

That’s right, but this has been dragging on so long that the court of public opinion has already ruled.

The verdict: whether Kovach did anything wrong, this looks like a witch hunt, and typical Berkeley County politics.

Here’s fiscal conservatism for you: so far the state and the county have spent $500,000 over a case that hinges on a $259 invoice.

No matter how you look at it, that should be a $50 fine — not a life sentence.

Reach Brian Hicks at bhicks@postandcourier.com.