You know what’s funny? Kristi Noem complaining about elected officials not returning her calls:
Gov. Noem on Thursday revealed she hasn’t heard from prosecutors investigating the Ravnsborg-Boever crash, addressed her communism comments for the first time, and discussed topics including the inauguration, Capitol invasion, her education bill and preparing for marijuana legalization.
Noem made her comments during a news conference in Pierre.
The governor said she remains frustrated that there’s been no charging decision more than four months after Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg hit and killed pedestrian Joe Boever with his car.
“I continue to call this a great disservice to the victim’s family. I’m disappointed that we haven’t seen some action taken by the state’s attorneys involved and hope that certainly soon that they will” take action, she said.
Noem also revealed that the attorneys haven’t communicated with her about the status of the case.
“We make inquiries on a regular basis and have gotten no answers,” she said [Arielle Zionts, “Gov. Noem Talks Ravnsborg, Education Bill, Communist Comment,” Rapid City Journal, 2021.01.21].
Well, it’s only kinda funny. Joe Boever is dead, and his killer, distracted driver Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, sits unpunished in his cushy elected seat in Pierre not coming close to earning his $118,603.03 yearly salary. No laughter will bring Mr. Boever back or put Jason in jail where he belongs.
But at least Governor Noem now knows how the South Dakota press corps feels when she ignores and stonewalls local journalists instead of answering their regular inquiries. Of course, Governor Noem’s recalcitrance to questioning is different from the silence of Hyde County deputy state’s attorney Emily Sovell and the other public prosecutors consulting on the case: the prosecutors can at least argue that they have a duty not to comment on ongoing investigations, even if the investigation is taking an unusually long time. And his Joe Boever’s cousin, Nick Nemec, who wants answers more than Kristi Noem does, warns that trying to get Sovell to talk could be viewed as interference in an investigation:
Nick Nemec, an area farmer, former Democratic legislator and Boever’s cousin, has visited the crash site many times. Nemec has served as a family spokesman.
“I don’t know what info they are waiting for,” he said. “I have resisted talking to Emily Sovell out of a concern that I don’t want to be accused of interference with an investigation” [Tom Lawrence, “State’s Attorney: Prosecutors Awaiting Information on Ravnsborg Fatal Crash,” Black Hills Pioneer, 2021.01.23].
It’s hard to tell what game the Governor is playing by professing dissatisfaction with this drawn-out investigation. Maybe she’s trying to pressure the state’s attorney to file manslaughter charges. Maybe she’s just spinning cover for herself so she doesn’t sound like she’s part of whatever effort SDGOP operatives may be making to fabricate evidence, blame Boever for reckless behavior, and get faithful lapdog Ravnsborg off the hook.
But if Governor Noem means what she says, if she really feels the family of Joe Boever deserves some swifter justice, she could exercise her political authority pretty quickly to do so. She can’t give orders to county state’s attorneys, and she can’t fire Ravnsborg herself, but as the most powerful Republican in the state, Governor Noem could walk over to Ravnsborg’s office, with the press in tow, and tell him on live Twitter camera, “You killed a man. Resign today, or I will walk back to the Legislature and tell the Republican leadership to impeach you.” And then just hold the camera on Jason, livestreaming his response.
Even if you don’t give one real damn about Joe Boever and his family, that baller move might vault you to the front of the 2024 GOP Presidential pack more than the sum total of all your failed campaigning for Trump, Loeffler, and Perdue. Quit relying on your bumbling Beltway blabber team to come up with taglines; play some realpolitik on Jason Ravnsborg’s sorry ass. I’m pretty sure not one voter in this state (other than Jason, but he’ll lose his voting privileges when he goes to prison) will complain if you do.
Still not really funny, because the man who matters most in this story, Joe Boever, is still dead, and no laughter or political machinations will bring him back. All we can do, Governor Noem, is do the right thing… which is to use whatever legal tools are available to remove killer Jason Ravnsborg from office as swiftly as possible.
Well Cory, don’t you wish that if your coming from a bar in Redfield, run over a man walking on the edge of the road near Highmore, that you could call up the sheriff, say you hit a deer, borrow the sheriffs car, go home and get a good night’s sleep. Thats a great America isn’t it?
Has anyone ever seen Ravnsborg’s Bronze Star? Was it for meritorious service or for valor. Just because you were awarded a Bronze Star does not mean that you did something heroic. My son served in the Stryker Brigade in Mosul and later in Baghdad, during the “surge”, he told me that the officers all seemed to get one like an atta boy award, if they were seen as career troops. Could that be why the investigators all seem skittish about doing their jobs?
Here is another guy who claims military achievement but can’t walk the walk. https://crooksandliars.com/2021/01/tom-cotton-s-stolen-valor-busted-he-wasn-t
The “we are still analyzing evidence” is becoming a bit stale. There was a pile-up on the I-90 near Sturgis a couple days ago. A semi hit a plow and caused a chain reaction. By the time it was hitting the media, it was reported that the semi driver caused the mishap due to … wait for it … wait … wait … DISTRACTED DRIVING! Guess they don’t take as long to analyze if you are a regular schmuck, eh? SD form of Trumpian justice!
Stalling as much as you can is one of the oldest tactics in a prosecutor’s playbook.
Bearcreekbat, could Noem legally set a date for this so called investigation to get finished? What can be done to move it along?
Jenny, I agree with Cory’s view that Noem “can’t give orders to county state’s attorneys,” which in turn means that she lacks legal authority to set a date for the investigation. And I am unsure what, if anything, could be done to move it along as the decision of when and whether to prosecute normally falls within the discretion of the top prosecutor in the particular office involved, which in this case seems to be Emily Sovell.
I think in typical cases the Attorney General’s Office has the authority to step in and take over if there are problems with the States Attorney, but this case is anything but normal. I have not researched this, but perhaps there is a provision in South Dakota law authorizing a Supreme Court Justice, Circuit Court Judge or other official to appoint a Special Prosecutor (e.g. like Robert Mueller or Kenneth Starr) due to the Attorney General’s Office’s conflict in interest, if it is determined that Sovell is unable or unwilling to make a decision in the case.
And as an aside, like Loren, I too observed how quickly the I-90 truck driver was to be charged for his distracted driving, compared to the complete absence so far as so much as a traffic ticket for Ravnsborg’s distracted driving. This really does stink of a different standard for normal folks.
Doesn’t look good for the AG. He killed a man.
My fear is that Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg will eventually plead guilty to some minor traffic offense, maybe “crossing the white line”. He will not resign, but will become so politically toxic that the 2022 SD GOP State Convention, now less than 18 months away, will nominate some other person for AG. Jason Ravnsborg can rest aassured I will be doing everything in my power to insure his political career is over.
Mark, I suspect that if I ever commit a crime a fraction as heinous as Ravnsborg’s, the state will leap at the chance to throw the book at me. It won’t take five months.
Loren, indeed, the charges seem crystal clear: the police report says the driver was distracted. The driver admits he struck a man with his car. The evidence on the road was plainly visible.
Thank you as always, bcb.
BCB, the AG can appoint special prosecutors, but that’s obviously not a help in this situation. I’m not sure if we have a provision for anyone else to intervene and put someone other than the state’s attorney on the case.
Noem surely picked up ideas from drumpf on how to run interference in investigations and she surely saw how he got away with it with a complicit magat Senate, so what is she waiting for?
Once again, my deepest sympathies for Nick and his family and his cousin’s family for their loss.
Mr. jerry, the bronze start Mr. Ravnsborg has was just a participation award. He was a supply officer who liked to pose wearing aviator glasses in front of an A-10 to make it look like he was a pilot. Mr. Ravnsborg is a bumbling fool that the GOP anointed against grudznick’s advice.
Pontius Pilate was more convincing. COVID Kristi’s concern is all bad theater.
Objective reporting comes from the Argus Leader. Beadle County State’s Attorney Michael Moore “said Friday that it’s not unusual for accident investigations such as the one involving Ravnsborg taking as long as a year to complete. In the Ravnsborg case, prosecutors are still waiting on biological evidence and cell phone data.”
“From my experience dealing with a case where you’re looking at possible criminal charges, it takes a while to make sure you have all your information before you make a decision,” Moore said. “You don’t want to make a decision when there’s still relevant information that we don’t have. That’s why it takes a while.”
Cell phone data can help investigators determine a number of factors, including the speed at which a vehicle was traveling. Cell phone data can also be paired with video data to help reconstruct an accident, Moore said. But those steps can take months before a determination on charges can be made.
While I doubt that Ravnsborg intentionally hit Mr. Boever, I find it awfully hard to stomach Ravnsborg’s lack of contrition. Only Ravnsborg knows if he knew that he hit a human being with his car that night, but if he did, his actions immediately after show that he is a cold, callous SOB.