Sanford cleared of criminal conduct on Argentine trips

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) on Monday was cleared of criminal conduct by the state’s attorney general regarding trips he took last year to meet his mistress in Argentina. 

Sanford, who was once considered a potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, came under scrutiny for using state aircraft and campaign funds as well as taking two trips to Argentina without informing the necessary personnel.

{mosads}Attorney General Henry McMaster said the “evidence does not support, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the governor knowingly, willfully and intentionally set out to break state law,” according to Columbia’s The State.

McMaster is running for governor this fall.

The decision means that Sanford will not face criminal charges and likely puts to rest the wide-ranging probe into his gubernatorial tenure that began after his admission, offered last June, of having an extramarital affair.

Sanford paid $74,000 in fines to settle civil charges in March and paid over $66,000 in reimbursements for the upgraded airfare he was discovered to have received in the ethics probe.