ANDERSON, S.C. -- Anderson County administrator Joey Preston is suing two members of the Anderson County Council, alleging that they have harassed and threatened county employees and illegally asked employees to give them county records.

Preston asked the South Carolina's 10th Circuit Court to rule that Councilman Bob Waldrep and Councilwoman Cindy Wilson have violated state laws that prohibit individual elected officials from directing municipal employees and to order that they refrain from the practice in the future.

The lawsuit says that in December of last year, Preston and Wilson, acting independently of council, went into the county finance division offices accompanied by news reporters and photographers and ordered employees to turn over county documents.

When the employees would not turn over the documents as ordered, the suit says that Waldrep and Wilson "became agitated" and implied that the employees' jobs were in jeopardy.

According court documents, one of those employees has filed a lawsuit against the county, claiming that she is being forced to work in a hostile work environment, Waldrep and Wilson have criticized Preston's performance as administrator and have questioned how he spends county funds.

Both Waldrep and Wilson said that they have not been served with the lawsuit.

"I guess the first thing I'd say is I'm surprised that someone who's supposed to be working for you would sue you," Waldrep told WYFF News 4's Mandy Gaither.

Wilson said she has asked Preston repeatedly for expenditure reports and that those requests are usually denied or delayed for months.

Wilson has been sued for $5 million by a county employee, who says Wilson committed libel.

She is also being investigated by the state ethic commission, which is looking into payments made to her attorney from her campaign fund to cover expenses related to a personal lawsuit against the county. Wilson released the information about the ethics investigation herself.

"It appears that this is a desperate measure from an administrator who refuses to be accountable to the county council and the citizens of Anderson County," Wilson told WYFF News 4.