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Noem Launders Over $1M from Federal PAC into State Committees, Flies Again on Pillow Guy’s Dime

Governor Kristi Noem is helping donors double their money and skirt South Dakota campaign finance limits by laundering money to gubernatorial campaign through her federal political action committee.

According to an amended year-end report filed last week Monday, on December 27, 2021, Noem moved $1.09 million from her federal Noem Victory Fund to three South Dakota PACs tied to her gubernatorial campaign.

  • $777,222.52 to Kristi for Governor.
  • $202,290.23 to Rhoden for Lt. Governor
  • $111,248.57 to Keeping Republican Ideas Strong Timely & Inventive PAC

Julie and Steven Leonard of Omaha each contributed $10,000 to the Noem Victory PAC on August 20, 2021. Julie Leonard sent Noem’s gubernatorial campaign another $250 at some point in 2021. Thus, Ms. Leonard was able to give Noem at least $10,250 to campaign in 2021, even though South Dakota campaign finance law limits yearly contributions to candidates at $4,000.

In further inventive funding of her self-interest, Noem transferred $133,254.93 from her federal PAC to SD Strong Leadership PAC, a committee formed last year by Noem’s campaign treasurer Kevin Broghamer. That PAC is chaired by Noem’s campaign chair, Steve Kirby, and treasurer Broghamer picks up the PAC’s checks and other mail at the same Bryant P.O. Box (171) as Kristi for Governor and KRISTI PAC.

Governor Kristi Noem is still taking favors from Big Election Liar Mike Lindell. According to this same FEC report, Noem accepted $2,850 from the pillow and election-lie pitchman for travel on October 14, 2021. This in-kind contribution came shortly after Noem canceled a trip to Texas to briefly hang around the state and catch her breath from a terrible scandal streak. The October trip was at least the second time in 2021 that Noem traveled on Lyin’ Mike’s dime.

And in real awkwardness, Trashelle Odom, the Idaho woman off of whom Noem told her campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski to keep his filthy mitts at a Las Vegas charity dinner on September 26, 2021, gave Noem’s federal PAC $15,000 on September 15.

10 Comments

  1. leslie 2022-04-04 09:27

    Love it, Corey. The Governor is scrutable! Give Republicans no quarter!!

  2. All Mammal 2022-04-04 09:44

    Don’t vote for Kristi the crooked crook. Her lipstick shades are Inbred Red and My sht Don’t Stink Pink. How many miles clocked in my beat up work boots have gone towards her clown face cosmetics allowance? I’ll try not to think about turgid, boiled ballpark frank lips while schlepping my burden at the salt mines today.

  3. bearcreekbat 2022-04-04 10:34

    If South Dakota campaign finance law doesn’t place any limits on contributions to state office seekers by so-called PACs, then it would seem that an individual desiring to contribute more than $4,000 to a candidate has a lawful method of doing so. This in turn raises the question: what is the point of the SD $4,000 legal limit anyway if the law provides a clear legal path through PACs to avoid this restriction?

    While this unique combination of laws makes no sense, it does not seem to meet any normal definition of “money laundering” unless the original source of these funds came from some unlawful actiuvity or source.

    Money laundering is the illegal process of making large amounts of money generated by a criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or terrorist funding, appear to have come from a legitimate source. The money from the criminal activity is considered dirty, and the process “launders” it to make it look clean.

    https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/moneylaundering.asp

  4. O 2022-04-04 10:55

    Apparently “fairness” is a concept the governor only applies to keep transgender women out of like-gender sports; fairness has no larger umbrella over funding of elections. Using every advantage — fair or not — is how she keeps the playing field decidedly un-leveled in her favor.

  5. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2022-04-04 14:38

    BCB, yes, the legal path of unlimited money via PAC seems to render the limits on direct-to-candidate limits meaningless. It’s all quite legal, but it’s still all quite dirty.

  6. Arlo Blundt 2022-04-04 16:17

    Will the idiocy ever cease?? Mike Lindell and Kristi Noem…a merger made made in Right wing radical heaven.

  7. Mark Anderson 2022-04-04 19:42

    At least the other Corey is human, Corey. Face it, both you and I live in states run by an Orban. However, the people of each state are still fine.

  8. Arlo Blundt 2022-04-04 19:55

    Is the Governor sleeping on sheets grown in Egypt’s Gaza Strip?? What happened to buy American???

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