Travel probe clears SC gov, spokesman says he’ll spend weekend in Fla. mending marriage

SC gov cleared in probe, plans to see wife in Fla.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gov. Mark Sanford used no taxpayer money to see his Argentine mistress during two visits to her country and three meetings in New York, South Carolina law enforcement agents said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the embattled Republican dug in, brushing aside calls to resign and announcing he would spend the holiday weekend with his wife and sons in Florida, where his in-laws live. His spokesman said they hope to take a longer family vacation toward the end of the month.

“He remains committed and determined to repair the damage he has done in his marriage and to building back the trust of the people of South Carolina,” spokesman Joel Sawyer said.

Over the course of a two-day interview with The Associated Press this week, Sanford revealed he has seen Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine woman he calls his “soul mate,” six times since they first met at an open air dance spot in Uruguay in 2001. He said the relationship turned physical when he saw her during a 2008 economic development trip to South America.

State Law Enforcement Division Chief Reggie Lloyd said agents were first checking into that trip and four others: two trysts in New York, one in Manhattan and one in the Hamptons; a meeting in New York City that was attended by a spiritual adviser and meant to be their last; and the secret trip to Argentina from which Sanford returned last week after his puzzling absence from the state. His staff had said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, and he later apologized for misleading them.

After Sanford told the AP about meeting Chapur in 2004 at a New York bistro, Lloyd said agents also asked for information about that.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we immediately called over to the governor’s office,” Lloyd said. He said the governor was fully cooperative and agents reviewed his personal financial records.

The governor said he planned to release his travel records to the media later Thursday afternoon. He has already given the state treasurer two personal checks totaling $3,300 to cover costs for the part of the 2008 economic development trip where he saw Chapur.

Sanford and Jenny, his wife of 20 years, have said they want to reconcile.

Sawyer would not say where the family will stay in Florida for the holiday weekend or where they will vacation. He asked the media to respect their privacy and declined to comment on how the governor would travel to Florida on Friday.

Also Thursday, a publisher announced it has terminated Sanford’s deal to write a book on fiscal conservatism. Spokesman Adrian Zackheim said the decision to drop the book titled “Within Our Means” was a mutual one between the governor and the publisher, Sentinel, a dedicated conservative imprint within Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Sawyer declined to comment on the book deal.