APRIL 12, 2022, 3PM UPDATE:
Without a vote to spare, members of the South Dakota House of Representatives voted to impeach South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.
House Resolution 7002 (HR7002) needed at least 36 votes to pass.
In August (2021), Ravnsborg was sentenced on two misdemeanor charges related to his hitting and killing Joe Boever of Highmore in September 2020.
District 24 Republican Representative Will Mortenson of Pierre introduced the Articles of Impeachment during a special session of that legislative body today (April 12, 2022) in Pierre.
Mortenson, who is an attorney, said the question that needed to be answered was “is the Attorney General’s conduct impeachable?”
Mortenson said impeachment is not about taking away someone’s rights.
District 24 Republican Representative Mike Weisgram of Fort Pierre also voted in favor of impeachment.
District 23 Republican Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch of Glenham chaired the special investigative committee that issued a recommendation on a 6-2 vote NOT to impeach. Gosch stayed true to his position today and voted “no” while his District 23 counterpart, Republican Representative Charlie Hoffman of Eureka, voted “yes.”
The District 26 Representatives were also split, this time along party lines. Democrat Shawn Bordeaux of Mission supported impeachment while Republican Rebecca Reimer of Chamberlain was against it.
APRIL 12, 2022, 12:15pm UPDATE:
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota House has impeached the state’s attorney general for his conduct surrounding a 2020 fatal car crash. The Republican-controlled House (April 12, 2022) rejected a majority report from a special investigative committee that had recommended against impeaching Jason Ravnsborg. Gov. Kristi Noem had pushed for her fellow Republican to be impeached, as had Democrats. Ravnsborg will be at least temporarily removed from his office until a Senate impeachment trial that will happen in May. It takes a two-thirds majority in that chamber to convict on the impeachment charges.
***Two members of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol answered questions from legislators about the accident investigation during a presentation last week (April 7, 2022). Listen to the entire meeting in this DRG Beyond the Mic podcast.
APRIL 12, 2022, 11AM UPDATE:
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg sent lawmakers a pair of defiant letters urging them to vote against impeaching him for his conduct before and after he struck and killed a pedestrian on the shoulder of a highway. Troopers say that Ravnsborg was distracted before the September 2020 crash that killed 55-year-old Joseph Boever. Opponents of impeachment say Ravnsborg need not be held accountable because he wasn’t on the job when the crash happened. One of the letters to lawmakers accused Republican Gov. Kristi Noem of interfering in the investigation and accusing her of supporting impeachment because of the attorney general’s investigations into her behavior. A second letter from Ravnsborg’s spokesman delves into “evidence, allegations and misconceptions,” about the case.
APRIL 12, 2022, 6AM:
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota House is set to decide whether Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg should be impeached for his conduct before and after he struck and killed a pedestrian on the shoulder of a highway. Troopers say that Ravnsborg was distracted before the September 2020 crash that killed 55-year-old Joseph Boever. Opponents of impeachment say Ravnsborg need not be held accountable because he wasn’t on the job when the crash happened. An investigation committee from the Republican-controlled House voted 6-2 along party lines against impeachment after arguments that Ravnsborg’s actions were not part of his official duties in office. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has pushed for impeachment, saying that Ravnsborg lied to investigators.
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