AP

South Dakota ethics board grinds forward on Noem complaints

May 2, 2022, 10:29 AM | Updated: 10:50 am

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota ethics board on Monday moved to hire an outside attorney as it considers a pair of ethics complaints against Gov. Kristi Noem, delaying its decision on whether to investigate allegations the governor interfered in a state agency evaluating her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license and misused state airplanes.

After meeting for roughly an hour in a closed-door executive session, the retired judges who sit on the Government Accountability Board decided they needed legal advice, but that it shouldn’t come from the lawyer who usually advises the board because she works in the attorney general’s office. That lawyer, Katie Mallery, has been recused from legal matters in the complaints.

Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who is a Republican like Noem, initiated the complaints after media reports on Noem’s actions in office. The board’s decision Monday was a procedural move as it approaches a key juncture for the complaints.

The board requested in February that Noem respond to the complaints and will eventually decide whether they should dismiss or investigate them.

“We have not yet made an initial determination, and so we’re going to consult with an attorney about that,” said the board’s chair Lori Wilbur, a retired Supreme Court justice.

The board’s consideration of the complaints has stretched since last year and happened entirely in private meetings. Democratic Rep. Linda Duba, who was at Monday’s meeting, expressed frustration at the laws governing the board, which was created in 2017 but has never handled high-profile allegations against the state’s top official.

“For a law that was passed that was supposed to provide transparency, we’re in the dark,” she said.

The Associated Press reported that the governor took a hands-on role in the appraiser certification agency while it was evaluating her daughter’s application for an appraiser license in 2020. Just days after the Department of Labor and Regulation moved to deny her daughter’s application, Noem called a meeting with her daughter, the labor secretary and the then-director of the appraiser certification program.

The agency’s director, Sherry Bren, told a legislative committee last year that she felt “intimidated” at the meeting, where she said Peters’ unsuccessful application was discussed in detail and a plan was formulated that gave her another chance to apply. Noem’s office, defending the governor’s conduct, has said the plan was already in the works before the meeting.

The attorney general’s other complaint was sparked by a report from Raw Story, an online news website. Noem in 2019 had used state airplanes to travel to events held by political organizations including the National Rifle Association and the Republican Jewish Coalition, even though South Dakota law bars their use for anything other than state business.

Noem, who faces reelection this year and has positioned herself as a 2024 White House aspirant, called the reports a political attack.

In her daughter’s case, she said she was working to “cut red tape” to solve a shortage of appraisers. She said she was acting as an ambassador for the state in her use of state airplanes.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom at New York Supreme Court, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023...

Associated Press

Trump seethes through the start of trial in New York lawsuit accusing him of lying about his wealth

Former President Donald Trump spent a day in court Monday for the sometimes testy start of a trial in a fraud lawsuit that could cost him control of assets.

7 hours ago

FILE - Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leaves the chamber at the Capitol in Washingt...

Associated Press

McCarthy rejects Senate spending bill while scrambling for a House plan that averts a shutdown

A government shutdown appeared all but inevitable as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy dug in Thursday.

4 days ago

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)...

Associated Press

Kari Lake reportedly plans to launch US Senate bid in Arizona for seat held by Kyrsten Sinema

Republican Kari Lake will soon launch her campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by independent Kyrsten Sinema, a senior adviser said Thursday.

5 days ago

Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jers...

Associated Press

3rd Republican presidential debate is set for Nov. 8 in Miami, with the strictest qualifications yet

The third Republican presidential debate will be held in Miami on Nov. 8, a day after several states hold off-year elections.

10 days ago

During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal ...

Associated Press

The fall equinox is here. What does that mean?

The equinox arrives on Saturday, marking the start of the fall season for the Northern Hemisphere. But what does that actually mean?

10 days ago

Ray Epps Ray Epps, an Arizona man who became the center of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6, 2021, ...

Associated Press

Ray Epps, an Arizona man who supported Trump, pleads guilty to Capital riot charge

Ray Epps, the target of a conspiracy theory about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge.

12 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

...

Ignite Digital

How to unlock the power of digital marketing for Phoenix businesses

All businesses around the Valley hopes to maximize their ROI with current customers and secure a greater market share in the digital sphere.

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

South Dakota ethics board grinds forward on Noem complaints