Did SC Department of Health Dr. Simmer lie under oath about threats and vandalism during his failed confirmation hearing in March? One Watch Dog group thinks so.

During a senate confirmation hearing in March of this year Interim South Carolina Department of Health Dr. Edward Simmer testified under oath that he had been “threatened” his and his wife’s car had been “Vandalized” in an attempt to “intimidate” him.  A story Palmetto Examiner covered.

“I have been threatened. Our car has been vandalized in an attempt to intimidate me,” Simmer said during testimony, “Peggy’s absence is not a show of non-support, but rather a shield to protect her from a potentially hostile encounter with opponents and those that wish us harm.”

Simmer later told reporters from the Post and Courier the car he shares with his wife was vandalized with a device attached to the license plate with two wires that were connected to a battery pack, then went into a box made to look like a bomb.

“Thankfully it wasn’t (a bomb), but it was frightening,” Simmer said.

But did Dr. Simmer lie under oath about the threats and the fake car bomb to the media? A South Carolina Watch Dog group thinks he may have.

According to Palmetto State Watch Foundation that posted on you tube a video of a press question and answer session with Simmer, the media asked him what were the most serious threats that he had received. Simmer described letters that read, “you need to be held accountable; we’re going to hurt you,” and that something was placed on his car that “was a clear attempt to make something look like a bomb.”

A non-member of the press, Evan Mulch, asks from the back if Simmer reported any of this to the police?

This creates quite the commotion from the press in the room who turn to Mulch and shut him down telling him not to talk because, “you’re not the news staff.”

Apparently the press doesn’t like it when non press people try to do their jobs better than they do.

Of course, Simmer doesn’t answer that question and the press moves on without ever asking that question, but asks him to describe the bomb.

I think Mulch’s question was a great question and very relevant since Simmer is basically alleging threats of terrorism on a state official, but what do I know, I went to junior college?

Since the media didn’t seem to wonder if Simmer had reported acts of terrorism on a state official to the police, Alaina Moore, from Palmetto State Watch Foundation did her own digging.

Moore sent FOIA requests to both the Beaufort and Beaufort County the police departments were Simmer and his wife live, the request was answered that no police report had been filed. 
 

PE reached out to the State’s Attorney General’s Office and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division asking if there is an ongoing investigation into these threats of a state government official. The Attorney General’s Office told us to ask SLED.  SLED never responded.

Why did Simmer not report these threats to law enforcement? Especially as a state official? These were acts that could be considered terrorism. Unless he was lying about them, which if he did lie, he did so under oath, and that could be considered perjury.

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Gov. McMaster doubles-down on Simmer Nomination to lead SC Dept. of Public Health; Asks Senate for full floor vote after contentious confirmation hearing, 12-5 vote not to confirm

 

Sen. Matt Leber, R-Charleston, (Right) asks Dr. Edward Simmer questions during his Senate
confirmation hearing Thursday. The Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted 12-5 not to confirm.

Written by Tony J. Spain, Palmetto Examiner
April 4, 2025

The Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted 12-5 against the confirmation of Dr. Edward Simmer, the governor’s pick, to run the S.C. Department of Public Health yesterday after a contentious hearing that centered around decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second day of Simmer’s confirmation hearing drew a large crowd not in support of his nomination, and Sen. Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, Committee Chairman, had to call for decorum twice before warning the audience he would clear the room.  

The no vote puts Simmer’s nomination on pause in committee indefinitely, but it doesn’t automatically kill the nomination. The full Senate could still decide to take up his confirmation with a vote on the floor, which Gov. Henry McMaster, who seems to be doubling down on Simmer, is strongly encouraging them to do.

“I remain resolute in my support of Dr. Simmer and am hopeful that the full senate will see through the falsehoods and mistruths being spread about his service to our state and nation,” McMaster said in a statement on social media soon after the committee’s vote.

If the Senate does decide to give McMaster his wish of a full vote on the Senate floor for confirmation, the odds seemed to be stacked against Simmer with a Republican supermajority. Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, was the only one of the 13 Republicans on the committee who voted in favor of his confirmation yesterday.

“There’s just no way I can sugar coat it,” said Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney. “I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. Your confirmation is facing an uphill battle.”

Simmer was drilled by Republicans on his response, quotes and decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic, and admitted himself he would have made some decisions differently with the information he has today.

“Knowing what I know today, yes, I would have approached that differently,” Simmer said speaking about recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for young people. “I would not have encouraged the vaccine as strongly.”

Simmer mentioned throughout the hearing him and his office “worked with the information they had at the time.”

One Senator told Simmer we had the best information you can have at any time during an emergency.

“What I’ve heard from yourself, it’s not a critique, but also from many other people who made many mistakes during COVID. They’re all saying the same thing now. We didn’t have all the information,” said Sen. Tom Fernadez, R-Berkley. “Here’s what we did have. We had the United States Constitution. We had personal liberty. We had personal freedom. That’s the best information at any time in any emergency.”

Sen. Matt Leber, R-Charleston, also hit Simmer hard during question stating he has lost confidence in Simmer’s leadership.

“I’m not confident,” Leber said. “I think about the sheriff’s and the teachers and nurses in Charleston County that lost their job because they were told you take the vaccine or your out.”

Simmer said he didn’t agree with that and didn’t think that was a good idea, but when Leber asked, “Did you speak up?” Simmer replied he didn’t because he didn’t think it was his place to speak up.

“I’m asking you to speak up as our expert on health,” Leber said. “Did you speak up as our South Carolina expert on health on something you fully admit that you felt was unnecessary or good for society?”

Simmer released a statement after the hearing thanking the members of the committee and especially Chairman Sen. Denny Verdin for providing him the opportunity to answer, “any and all questions about my nomination in an honorable and respectable format.”

“I also appreciate the continued support of Gov. Henry McMaster for my leadership of the S.C. Department of Public Health,” Simmer noted.

Simmer will remain as the interim director for now.

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About the Author:

Tony Spain writes for his own website, Palmetto Examiner. He is a former candidate for Richland County Council 2020 and an award winning former military photographer and journalist while in the Public Affairs Office for the U.S. Army. His photos and writing have been published in numerous publications such as The Commercial News, Danville, Ill.; The Paraglide, Fort Bragg, N.C.; Soldier of Fortune Magazine; The State Newspaper, Columbia, S.C., and more. He currently writes for his own website, Palmetto Examiner

He lives in Columbia, S.C.

What Say You? Got something you'd like to say? Letter to the Editor (Guest Column), praises, criticism, hate mail, news story tip or just want to say, howdy. Send them to Tony@palmettoexaminer.com

OPINION: Governor McMaster Should Seek a Second Opinion on Head of Department of Public Health

 

Written by Tony J. Spain, Palmetto Examiner
March 26, 2025
 
The practice of medicine often involves a mix of science, experience, and judgement and second opinions can play a big role in refining that process. Doctors rely on established theories—like how diseases work, how drugs or vaccines interact, how things like masks, quarantines and social distancing prevents the spread —grounded in evidence from studies and trials. But medicine isn’t just plugging symptoms into a formula: it’s about interpreting those theories in the messy reality of the situation you find yourself in, and sometimes the experts can disagree.

And let me say, I’m not a doctor, never played one on tv, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express and have gotten a second opinion in the past that was a much better outcome than what was originally recommended.

Sometimes a second opinion is smart. A second opinion is essentially a check on the first doctor’s reasoning. No one is infallible. Studies show misdiagnosis rates can range from 5 percent to 20 percent, depending on the condition. Different doctors might weigh the same evidence differently or spot something the other missed. It’s not necessarily the science changes; it’s the application of it can vary.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster seems unwilling to look at a second opinion when it comes to Dr. Edward Simmer, Interim Head of South Carolina Department of Public Health and his nominee for the first South Carolina Department of Public Health. McMaster continues to stand solidly behind his decision calling Simmer “exceptional” and “eminently qualified,” but many in his own party are not in agreement. They label Simmer as “South Carolina’s Dr. Fauci” and an opponent to “medical freedom.” Those complaints have centered around the State’s response to COVID-19. Opponents claim Simmer pushed for school closures, shutdowns and vaccine and mask mandates.

“Dr. Edward Simmer’s track record during the pandemic demonstrated a clear disregard for South Carolinian’s values and freedoms, prioritizing mandates and divisive policies over individual rights,” Sen. Tom Fernandez, a Summerville Republican who sits on the committee, wrote on Facebook in a post Simmer specifically addressed in his Senate Medical Affairs Committee Confirmation Hearing Thursday claiming it to be “absolutely false.”

McMaster says he has heard the critics but doesn’t understand them, claiming no one is more qualified for the position in the state.

“I’ve been listening closely to the things the critics have been saying about him so far in the last few days, and I have not found an ounce of truth in any of it. I have not found a word of truth about the allegations they’re making against the man. He wasn’t even here when all those mandates were going on,” McMaster said in January when criticism was mounting. “He wasn’t even here. He arrived after all the federal mandates and all that, all of which we challenge in court and all of which we won,” McMaster said. “I do not know if we could find anyone as good as, much less better than, Dr. Simmer, so I think those that are criticizing him ought to take a good look at the facts and then decide what they want to say.”

And that is exactly the goal here is to take a good look at the facts before deciding what to say.

Simmer was appointed by McMaster to take over the lead of Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) in February 2021 before the agency was dissolved into separate departments and has been the interim head of the newly created South Carolina Department of Public Health since November 2021 and it is true, most of the mandates had ended by then. Simmer claims even if he had been in the state when the pandemic began in 2020, he wouldn’t have recommended closing schools or businesses.

“Let me be perfectly clear, so that everyone on this committee and every citizen of this state can hear it directly from me. I have never prioritized any mandates,” Simmer said during testimony. “I will continue to preserve and defend South Carolinians’ freedom and individual rights.”

Simmer likes to continuously point out that he hasn’t required or supports mandating the COVID vaccine to anyone. And technically he is right, but he has recommended and ran a $5 million public relations campaign to manipulate information and push the vaccine through peer pressure tactics to get as many people as possible to get the vaccine.

In more than 25 hours of 2021 DHEC board meetings led by Simmer and condensed into about a 30-minute highlight reel, compiled by Palmetto State Watch, Simmer talks about giving “free admission to state parks during holiday weekends” to anyone getting the COVID vaccine on site, mobile units going into communities “street by street getting people to vaccinate right where they are” stating the “goal is to get as many people vaccines as we can.”

In June 2021, Simmer also talks about a “shot and chaser” campaign with local breweries to target 21–26-year-olds, the lowest group of unvaccinated people.

“We are really trying to get younger people vaccinated. We think this is a good way to reach out to some of those folks,” Simmer says. “When we can find things where people are going out with friends, and friends say, hey, let’s go get vaccinated. Those kinds of things have shown in the past to be highly effective.”

Yes, peer pressure is highly persuasive. It’s how many young people end up with tattoos they later regret or a drug habit pushed by a drug dealer that also uses peer pressure. It’s highly manipulative.  

This is not a suggestion that Dr. Simmer is nefariously pushing a vaccine to “hurt children” or “put poison in people’s arms” as some of his critics have suggested. I think Dr. Simmer believes in the effectiveness of the vaccine as he has gotten the vaccine himself.

I also believe some criticism of Simmer is unwarranted and unfounded as McMaster says, but not all of it.

In August 2021, Simmer is on video during a board meeting, requiring masks for schools despite not having the legal authority.

“The best way to protect our children is to require the use of masks by everyone in the school. Whether or not our schools are allowed to do that I think is a question that is an open one. I know there may be a legal case regarding that. I’m certainly not an expert in the area and can’t comment on that part,” he said in the video. “I think we know from the public health standpoint and what the science shows that if we want to protect our students…and keep them in school we should require masking.”

That seems to be in contradiction to “never requiring mask mandates.”

It also seems clear, that if not for the state legislature banning mask and vaccine mandates, Dr. Simmer would have not hesitated to require vaccine and mask mandates for everybody.

Simmer also likes to tote the line that at the Department of Public Health, “we inform, and you decide,” but it also seems not all the information is being provided. Only the information that aligns with certain beliefs while other information from other groups of doctors is discredited and labeled misinformation.

At the same time, I won’t go as far as other critics who say Dr. Simmer has contradicted himself on several occasions. I can understand the information provided to him can change, especially through an ongoing pandemic.

The practice of medicine is science based. Science is based in theory, which is why you have second opinions and doctors can agree or disagree on best treatments. I’d prefer the option of someone that presents all the information available, not just the cherry-picked information that aligns with certain beliefs and recommendations.

After a hard look at the facts, Governor McMaster should seek a second opinion on who should be the Head of South Carolina Department of Public Health. I think he will find we can do better. South Carolina definitely deserves better.

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About the Author: Tony Spain is a former candidate for Richland County Council 2020 and an award winning former military photographer and journalist while in the Public Affairs Office for the U.S. Army. His photos and writing have been published in numerous publications such as The Commercial News, Danville, Ill.; The Paraglide, Fort Bragg, N.C.; Soldier of Fortune Magazine; The State Newspaper, Columbia, S.C., and more.

He lives in Columbia, S.C.

What Say You? Got something you'd like to say? Letter to the Editor (Guest Column), praises, criticism, hate mail, news story tip or just want to say, howdy. Send them to Tony@palmettoexaminer.com