Nikki Haley affair blogger has e-mails, texts

The guy who says he had a relationship with the would-be governor of South Carolina is not backing down

Published May 25, 2010 6:45PM (EDT)

South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley, right, is joined by her husband Michael Haley in Greenville, S.C., Monday, May 24, 2010, as she denies current allegations surrounding an affair with her and blogger Will Folks. Mrs. Haley had been speaking at a forum at the Carolina First Center. (AP Photo/Patrick Collard)  (Associated Press)
South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley, right, is joined by her husband Michael Haley in Greenville, S.C., Monday, May 24, 2010, as she denies current allegations surrounding an affair with her and blogger Will Folks. Mrs. Haley had been speaking at a forum at the Carolina First Center. (AP Photo/Patrick Collard) (Associated Press)

The site whose founder says he had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley now claims to have phone records and e-mails to prove his claim. FITSNews.com says the records begin with an e-mail sent in November of 2005 and end with a text message from three days ago.

FITS also published this photo of Haley, Folks and disgraced Gov. Mark Sanford. It obviously doesn't prove anything, but it is really funny.

The Columbia (S.C.) Free Times confirms that it's been working on a story on the supposed affair between Folks and Rep. Haley. According to the story, everyone in the S.C. State House knew about it (or had at least heard the rumors) for more than a year. And a political operative told the paper that Folks privately admitted to the affair last year. (The same operative also claims that a Haley staffer said Haley told the staffer about the affair in 2008.)

So! This is either an odd attempt by someone who clearly did know Nikki Haley for years to destroy her political carer (which he's also supported for years) or the guy did have an affair with her and then attempted to get out in front of the story. Haley still categorically denies it. Folks says the story was being leaked to the press by Haley's primary opponent, Gresham Barrett.


By Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene

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