Governor Kristi Noem alleges that our legislators, while dilly-dallying on impeachment, are giving killer Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg special treatment in the appropriations process:
At about the same time the Governor was blasting this cahootsery, her Secretary of Public Safety, Craig Price, who declared publicly last summer that Ravnsborg should have been charged with manslaughter for driving distracted and killing Joe Boever in 2020, issued a letter to Speaker of the House and chairman of the Ravnsborg impeachment committee Spencer Gosch to make an argument he was not invited to make before the impeachment committee: that Ravnsborg lied to investigators, that Ravnsborg has shown a pattern of irresponsible driving and using his office to get out of traffic citations, and that Ravnsborg and his inner circle has made “disparaging and offensive statements regarding other law enforcement officers, judges, a supreme court justice, a legislator, prosecutors, staff members, a former Attorney General, and a United States Senator”:
Secretary Price’s official news release accompanying this letter notes that the impeachment committee is meeting again Thursday at the Capitol. The committee convenes at 3 p.m. Central in Room 414 and has scheduled three hours of secret discussion with its lawyer, Sara Frankenstein. For his part, Speaker Gosch is looking at this obvious political pressure as a way to get out of holding one of the worst Republicans accountable:
“We’re having conversations right now about whether or not we can even proceed at this point,” Gosch said while questioning whether the entire process has been tainted by the governor’s involvement, which he characterized as “perverted” [Joe Sneve, “Text to Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg About Man He Hit Said ‘Well, at Least the Guy Was a Democrat’,” Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 2022.03.09].
Both Noem and Price are making it easier for Gosch to cry about political meddling by holding back on some key points. Noem is not telling us which appropriators—House, Senate, or both—met secretly with Ravnsborg, what the $1.5 million is for, and into which bill, whether special appropriations or the FY2023 budget, legislators are tucking that plum. Price, for his part, gives more details, but he leaves some crucial details out: what were the disparaging and offensive statements, at whom exactly were they directed, and did Ravnsborg himself say them or did he just chuckle or grimace as his cronies said them?
Governor Noem, if there’s sneaky money going into the budget, show us the line item, and tell us you will veto it.
Secretary Price, if you have documented evidence of language that would underscore Ravnsborg’s unfitness to hold his office as the highest law enforcement officer in South Dakota, put that language on the record now. If three mean tweets can cancel a Democratic candidacy for Congress, if one foul remark about an unnamed prostitute warrants a formal censure of a Republican candidate for Governor, then open insults toward an array of elected officials and public servants with whom the Attorney General is expected to maintain respectful relations are surely grounds for Jason Ravnsborg’s immediate resignation or impeachment and conviction.
Don’t play coy, Secretary Price. If Ravnsborg said the things you intimate, we should have heard them a year ago, or more, so we could remove this ineffective and undeserving Attorney General from office sooner. Publish the transcripts—post the texts.
Whatever become of the January phone calls that people received about Ravnsborg? That was a big topic that just quickly went way. Who was behind that?
Lots of dirty stuff going on trying to get rid of someone who has a slim chance of re-election in less than 8 months.
Noem wants Ravnsborg gone for a reason. Well honestly, probably more than one reason and it has nothing to do with the death of Mr. Boever. It is about trying to save her own political career. I’m sure Noem will appoint Jackley, if Ravnsborg is impeached. I’m sure Noem and Jackley have an agreement that if Noem appoints Jackely that Jackely will not go after Noem for all her crocked work.
People need to look beyond the obvious and ask why Noem is pushing so hard to get rid of Ravnsborg and WHY.
What if that closed door session and the $1.5 Million is for a special investigation and special prosecutor looking into Noem actions?
Republican on Republican violence is the best kind. May the SDGOP rot in Zell.
Well, I suspected this outcome at the beginning of Noem’s crusade to rid herself of Ravensborg and any files he may have on her. None of the principals in this drama, Noem, Ravensborg, Gosch. most of the legislators, are competent enough to construct and manage a unprecedented impeachment process. They all seem “over their heads, beyond their depth, beyond their pay grades. ” They are a collection of ambitious nimrods who are part time actors in a great, and very expensive, charade. Too bad if state government and the state constitution are at risk. All the principals in this drama, , from the late county sheriff to the confused and misguided state’s attorney to the Legislature, Governor, her staff, and Speaker Gosch were unable, given their intellectual limitations and moral obscurity, to act with fidelity and moral certainty. The only people touching this case who came out unscathed are the investigators. from North Dakota.
“I never saw anything until the impact.”
Price claims the statement above indicates that Jason had seen Joe at the time of the impact.
I obviously wasn’t there, but I’m thinking maybe what Jason saw was the shattered windshield.
Craig Price is a rare depth of evil, and Kristi Noem seems to be a terrible judge of character.
“ Watching the South Dakota state legislature at work is like watching a therapy session in the retard ward.”
https://northernbeacon.blogspot.com/2022/03/farewell-to-covid-incubators.html
Using Kristi and transparency in the same sentence is pretty mythical. Maybe she has changed since the kangaroo court meeting she had regarding her daughter flunking the appraisers test. What do you think?
Mr. Evans, it seems the BCI is close to gaining access to new technology able to extract retinal images from an eye examination of snapshots passed through those optic nerves to the brain. When they get these “timewarp compressed retinal impressions”, as they are called in the world #4Science, it will no doubt show Mr. Ravnsborg looking directly into the face of the man whose head busted the front window.
This technology may also be able to be deployed on fossils of Dinosaurus Innanerous found near Spearfish to show the Earth is only 6,000 years old.
Queen stupid. Killer stupid. Operating among a crowd of inept inbred stupids. I mean republicans.
Crookedness stupid aka republicans are displaying all manners of deceit, corruption, guile, hypocrisy, and untruthfulness as criminals are rooting out other criminals in their ranks. Some charged and guilty. Some might be charged. Other deserved to be charged.
As can be said about the one party control in good old South Dakota of many criminals in all the important places; Proverb, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” means that whenever a person has power over other people or things, it makes him/her corrupt. It morally destroys their nature and fills them with destructive pride. To the core the inept inbred Republicans have rotted.
Time for healing and uplifting in November 2022, goes the Democrats and Independents.
Astounding, Grudz, absolutely astounding.
Indeed, Mr. Arndt.
“The Astouding grudznick” should be what I am called from here on and out.
Scott, would the AG really need an extra $1.5M for such a purpose? Couldn’t that just come out of regular operating budget?
But indeed, why would Ravnsborg get an unusual closed-door meeting for such a budget request? And why wouldn’t Noem tell us what the money is for?
Note the point Price makes about Ravnsborg lying about his speeding. Price says Ravnsborg has been stopped “several times” for doing more than 10 mph over the speed limit.
Note also Price’s statement that Ravnsborg has misused his state car, driving it to military service out of state.
Note Price’s statement that Ravnsborg lied to investigators about checking websites (including this blog) on his phone while driving the night he killed Joe Boever.
Why are we not talking about those violations of law and trust? What does it take to hang a corrupt Republican in this state?
I see no mention of a closed-door hearing with the Attorney General on March 8 in the minutes of Joint Appropriations. I see no mention of line items for the Attorney General’s office in the minutes of the March 9 Joint Appropriations meeting. Joint Appropriations has on its agenda today Senate Bill 60, the revision of this year’s budget. No potential amendments are listed yet for SB 60; as originally proposed on January 6, the budget adjustments give the AG $747,400 more than appropriated last year.
The budget motion sheets dated yesterday for Joint Appropriations’ recommendation for the FY2023 budget show total proposed increases to the AG’s budget of $2,047,473, $971,374 less than the $3,018,847 the AG requested.
Amend that: yesterday’s JCA minutes show action on these items that appear to be AG-related:
I’m working up a full post on those items, but it appears that Approps has approved $1.37 million above what Noem recommended for the AG’s operations.