GREENVILLE, S.C. -- South Carolina lawmakers are focusing debate over the potential impeachment of Gov. Mark Sanford on a trip to South America during which the Republican has said his relationship with an Argentine woman became sexual.

State Rep. Greg Delleney said Monday that he believes the governor's so-called economic development trip to Buenos Aires in 2008 was a cover for something else.

The governor reimbursed the state for a portion of the trip after he revealed his affair. He has said his longtime friendship with the woman turned romantic when they met in Argentina 17 months ago.

Sanford shocked the state when he returned from Argentina, revealing a yearlong affair with a woman in Argentina. He will face several dozen state ethics charges on travel and campaign reimbursements during a hearing expected next year.

The subcommittee has been debating for about two weeks whether Sanford should be removed for dropping out of contact with his office during a trip to Argentina in June to meet his lover.

During that hearing, Sanford was speaking to members of Spartanburg First Monday at Yannis Restaurant on East Main Street. The governor is scheduled to visit the Southern Aluminum Foundry and Machine Company in Clinton at 2:15 p.m.