NEW YORK — Stephen Colbert announced on “The Colbert Report” that he is exploring a presidential run in South Carolina, and made it legal by handing control of his super PAC to Jon Stewart in the opening segment of Thursday night’s show. That said, Mr. Colbert, who has comically flirted with — and mocked the possibility of — runs for political office before, already has a finance committee, a “super PAC” called Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and a fan base that would support him. In the event of a presidential run by Mr. Colbert, he would have to hand over responsibility for the PAC to another person. I’ve talked it over with my spiritual adviser.” 
 
 Trevor Potter, the former Federal Election Commission chairman, acts as Colbert’s lawyer and was a guest on the show. “That’s what PACs do — they don’t have to tell you,” he said.
– Stephen Colbert is pressing the joke: He announced tonight that he's exploring a presidential run in South Carolina, reports Politico. He even turned over control of his beloved super PAC to, yes, Jon Stewart to make it legal. “I am proud to announce that I am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for president of the United States of America of South Carolina,” Colbert said. (The show airs later tonight.) Colbert had floated the possibility on last night's show, after noting that he's polling above Jon Huntsman in the state. If he goes through with it, he'd have to be a write-in candidate because he missed the filing deadline, notes the New York Times. "The stunt was part of Colbert’s continuing effort to expose what he considers absurdities in US election law," writes Politico's Mike Allen, who was a guest on the show.