South Carolina Gov. Sanford Faces 37 Ethics Charges

The charges include spending state money on business-class plane tickets, instead of flying coach; using state aircraft to attend political and personal events, like the birthday party of a campaign donor; and using his campaign fund for noncampaign expenses, like a ticket to President Obama’s inauguration.

The list, citing incidents from September 2005 to April 2009, provides the first details of the accusations that the Ethics Commission will pursue after a wide-ranging review of Mr. Sanford’s travel and financial records. The commission’s nine members are appointed by the governor.

A separate impeachment resolution has been filed in the Legislature, but the ethics panel and the legislative action so far deal with different accusations. The ethics panel reviewed accusations of misuse of public resources; the impeachment resolution deals with Mr. Sanford’s secret trip to Argentina in June to visit a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair.

The impeachment resolution says Mr. Sanford, a Republican, is guilty of “serious misconduct” and “dereliction of duty” because he left the state without leaving anyone in charge and “directed members of his staff in a manner that caused them to deceive and mislead the public.” They said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.