South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was cleared of ethics charges Friday for the second time in two months, though her family continues to deal with a separate controversy after her military husband took to Facebook to call state lawmakers "cowards."
The House Ethics Committee on Friday cleared Haley of charges she illegally lobbied while a member of the House.
Haley's attorney Butch Bowers said the verdict ends the matter and shows Haley's conduct was appropriate. Haley issued a statement saying she is pleased with the results.
"The Ethics Committee did its job thoroughly, professionally and well," she said. "It's just a shame that our judicial and legislative bodies have had to waste so much of their time on phony political charges that never had any evidence behind them or any basis in fact."
Haley had testified she did nothing wrong in her previous jobs as a fundraiser for Lexington Medical Center's nonprofit and as a consultant for engineering firm Wilbur Smith Associates.