Sioux Falls, South Dakota – A South Dakota House committee investigating whether the state’s attorney general should be fired for his behavior in a fatal car accident in 2020 will end his work this week, closing an investigation into months that has divided the state Republicans.
On Monday afternoon, the Chamber’s Select Committee of Inquiry is scheduled to issue a final report, which will include parts of the accident investigation that have not been drafted by the committee. Lawmakers will also discuss whether to recommend Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg dismissal.
The report will assess the conduct of the top law enforcement official and set the tone for House lawmakers as they prepare to vote on his removal.
Here’s a look at impeachment research:
Why is Ravnsborg facing dismissal?
Ravnsborg hit and killed a man walking near a country road in September 2020. He initially reported the night accident as a collision with an animal and has insisted he did not realize he killed the man, Joseph Boever, 55, until he returned. the next day he went to the scene and found his body.
Criminal investigators told the impeachment committee Ravnsborg was inconsistent with them in recounting the accident, they did not believe his story and that he perhaps knew that he had struck a man. But prosecutors said they could not prove it.
In August, Ravnsborg did not declare any contest to a couple of misdemeanors for making an illegal lane change and using a telephone while driving a minute before the accident.
The investigation divides Republicans
Gov. Kristi Noem has worked hard for the removal of her fellow Republican, saying last year she was “outraged” by the outcome of the charges and suggesting the removal could hold Ravnsborg accountable.
“The public deserves the truth and this family, this poor family deserves a little justice,” he said in January.
One of the governor’s top officials, Public Safety Secretary Craig Price, presented an argument for dismissal in a public letter to the committee this month. He noted that Ravnsborg was distracted when the accident happened, criminal investigators did not believe his story and that the Attorney General consulted with a digital evidence expert in his office before handing over his phone to investigators.
Price also raised new allegations, pointing to “contemptuous and offensive” text messages about state officials who were negotiated by Ravnsborg and top aides. Price further alleged that Ravnsborg had been arrested for traffic offenses eight times in the approximately 18 months between taking possession and the fatal crash, including five in which he identified himself as Attorney General or showed a insignia.
But Noem’s pressure campaign has upset committee lawmakers who see it as an intrusion.
If he is removed from office, Noem could appoint a replacement for Ravnsborg, who has been facing a couple of ethical complaints against Naomi since the dispute with the governor at the Government’s Liability Board. state.
Lawmakers have suggested that Naomi improperly interfered by making public parts of the investigation, including videos of criminal investigators questioning Ravnsborg.
House Speaker Spencer Gosch, the Republican at the helm of the impeachment committee, said his final report would include details of how Noem has tried to “influence the investigation.”
An organization formed to promote Noem’s agenda in the state, the Dakota Institute for Legislative Solutions, sponsored billboards accusing four Republicans and a Democrat of covering the attorney general. Noem has denied any involvement, but some lawmakers have said they do not believe it.
Will the South Dakota House vote on Ravnsborg’s removal?
Almost certainly. But it is unclear what impetus there will be for impeachment, which requires a simple majority, when the House meets on April 12.
If the committee recommends impeachment, it would give a boost to those pushing to oust Ravnsborg.
Even if the committee does not recommend action, there is likely to be a separate push to remove it. Republican Rep. Will Mortenson, who filed impeachment articles last year, said his argument for doing so has only been confirmed with the testimony of law enforcement officers investigating the crash.
What happens if the State Chamber dismisses him?
If the House removes Ravnsborg, he will be removed from office at least temporarily.
The state constitution calls for a dismissed official to resign while the impeachment trial takes place in the Senate. It also requires that at least 20 days elapse between the time the official is dismissed and the start of the trial. A two-thirds majority of the Senate is required to convict and permanently remove the Attorney General from office.
In any case, Ravnsborg faces an unlikely political future. GOP predecessor Marty Jackley has announced an offer to replace him.
The state Republican Party will decide its candidate at a convention in June, and Jackley has the support of the state’s most powerful elected official: Noem.
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