Now he tells us….
Less than one week after the Senate convicted and removed him from the Attorney General’s office for good, killer Jason Ravnsborg crawled out of his hole yesterday and showed up in Sioux Falls to tell the Government Accountability Board (and the world) that the next person impeached ought to be Governor Kristi Noem:
Ravnsborg appeared at the Government Accountability Board’s meeting for the first time since he initiated the complaints last year and said he was ready to provide additional information.
He made it clear he thinks an investigation could have far-reaching consequences for Noem, who is running for reelection after a first term that vaulted her to national prominence. She’s widely considered to be a White House aspirant in 2024.
“I’m not going to let this just drop. I think that they should pursue it and I do believe that, ultimately, the House will pursue it,” Ravnsborg told The Associated Press, suggesting that Noem could also face impeachment for her actions.
…“I think that among these two complaints — and there’s other scandals that she’s involved in — that she did not want the information to come to light,” he said [Stephen Groves, “Removed South Dakota AG Presses Ethics Case Against Noem,” AP, 2022.06.27].
Ravnsborg dropped the i-bomb explicitly with Joe Sneve:
“Now we have a process for impeachment, and potentially that goes along with what we’re doing upstairs here,” Ravnsborg told the Argus Leader following a Government Accountability Board meeting, where a pair of complaints against Noem were discussed in a closed-door executive session [Joe Sneve, “Jason Ravnsborg Breaks Silence, Goes After Kristi Noem After Impeachment as Attorney General,” Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 2022.06.27].
Funny: just last week, Ravnsborg opened his defense against his own impeachment with impeachment specialist Ross Garber’s argument that impeachment is extremely rare and thus should be extremely rare. Now less than a week after South Dakota’s first impeachment conviction, Ravnsborg is saying it’s time for a second impeachment. Apparently Ravnsborg has learned one thing from his impeachment: his defense stunk.
But Ravnsborg has obviously not accepted the outcome of his impeachment. Instead of finally acknowledging that he committed crimes and malfeasance in office and deserves to have lost his government job, he’s still blaming other people for his woes:
The former attorney general denied that he was out for revenge against Noem, although he blames her for his removal.
…Ravnsborg blamed “emotion and political pressure” for tilting the Republican-controlled Senate against him and said Noem sought his removal because he had filed the complaints to the Government Accountability Board [Groves, 2022.06.27].
I should be glad of any help we can get in removing Kristi Noem from office. I was glad last October when Ravnsborg, whatever his motives, finally woke up and transferred to the Government Accountability Board Senator Reynold Nesiba’s request that he investigate Noem’s possible use of the state plane for personal and partisan political use. (Hey, how’d she get to New York City yesterday to pitch “her” book on GMA?) I was glad when, a week later, Ravnsborg also punted to the GAB the investigation of Noem’s corrupt intervention in her daughter’s real estate appraiser certification. But now, his presence amidst any investigation of Noem only distracts from Noem and offers her campaign a chance to dismiss investigations into her very real corruption as the sour grapes of a crybaby killer.
When Ravnsborg was Attorney General, he passed the buck. Now that he’s not Attorney General, he’s trying to play prosecutor. Ravnsborg needs to remember that it was not he personally who forwarded these complaints to the Government Accountability Board; it was the office of the Attorney General. If anyone should be appearing before the GAB to help it investigate those complaints, it should be the Acting Attorney General and his staff, not the guy who just got kicked out of that job and can never hold that job again.
Jason, you’re not helping. If you have information about Noem’s plane corruption, her nepotism, or the “other scandals that she’s involved in,” publish it. You have a website: you could replace your fraudulent political fundraising and portrayal of yourself as Attorney General with a simple WordPress installation to allow you to post documents and blog the actual evidence of Noem’s corruption. Dump on Kristi the way she dumped on you, with actual videos and evidence that sealed your disgrace and removal from office. You have nothing to lose—we can’t impeach you again.
But if you don’t have the goods on Kristi, or you’re not willing to share the goods, then shut up. Be Nixon: go back to San Clemente, stay out of the spotlight, and don’t let your disgrace foul up our efforts to tackle other corruption.
With this and with the GOP convention last weekend, it seems like a trend for major losers of Republican races to try to stay relevant (Haugaard, Howard, Ravnsborg). Sour grapes only make bad wine.
Why doesn’t Viceroy Schoenbeck simply plant some evidence on Mr. Ravnsborg?
In South Dakota at least thirty two members of the Church of the Holy Roman Kiddie Diddlers have been credibly accused of preying on children and vulnerable adults but don’t expect suspected incel Jason Ravnsborg, former Attorney General and former altar boy to take on both South Dakota Dioceses.
Ravnsborg has finally said something that I can agree with. Yeah, he’s a horrible human being, a whiner and a killer. Nothing is worse than a whiner and a killer, except for a whiner and a killer with even more power in her hands than Ravnsborg had in his. And let’s not kid ourselves that Noem’s brand of killing—many of those Covid deaths are due directly to her actions or lack of actions—is any better than Ravnsborg’s. In fact Noem’s murder spree took far more lives than Ravnsborg’s. If there was anything like justice in the United States, not only would both be impeached and convicted they would be sitting in prison.
And so we have Jake the Snake piping up after his loss trying to stay relevant.
‘Alas poor Ravnsborg! I knew him, Horatio.’
Right message, worst possible messenger. Absolutely the most tone deaf possible timing.
There’s a little fixer-upper antique shop at Quinn that Jason could purchase. Live off the grid. Dump that cell phone ’cause the damn thang only gits ya in trouble. Dress up like a hillbilly, stop bathing, swear off women, grow out a long, full beard (to hide that weak chin) and intermittingly puff on weed and tobacky from a corn cob pipe. Jason could take up drinking moonshine or some of that bad wine, and stare … out the window … at night … to watch the red eyes light up on that dinosaur statue at the Wall exit.
What coulda been. What coulda been.
Unfortunately, the illegal use of the state airplane and the Bren Affair should be grounds for pursuing America’s Party Girl Kristi Noem. Depending on the hard evidence, she could be in big trouble with malfeasance of office and lying about the abuses to cover them up. There are certainly plenty of people in Pierre who can do the digging and document a case on Noem’s abuses and arrogance. They need to get to work.
But, jeez Jason! Just go away.
Haha-Quinn’s crude bedroom community, Cottonwood, Midnight, July 4, 1969ish, hosted a dance which devolved into a brawl and the band was stiffed, the highway patrol eventually intervened, as I remember. They never did pay.
A redeeming note, Quinn has an off/on switch on the sole street light-pole to preserve black sky viewing at the Badlands Observatory (if it still exists).
Cory, its just the anger phase, although it’s absolutely true. Republican’s have a problem with their superiority complex. It’s just too easy to beat them at golf and they can’t handle it. One word and it’s food on the wall.
Noem could retire Today to Quinn or its booming suburb Cottonwood and skip her impeachment or losing to DeSantis in 24.
All you Republicans ! Grab your pensions (welfare) and get to your San Clemente now.
We the real socialists (Sweden style, and they swear it’s not socialism just good taxation) are taking over!
Democrats in South Dakota, grab your pensions too! We will replace you.
Not that Mr. Natvig would have done it but how likely is it that the churchiest SDGOP delegates know in their guts Marty Jackley has the goods on Denny Sanford and see the AG in a position to decide whether the state will probe more deeply into Mr. Sanford’s likely wrongdoing?