South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was found guilty of two impeachment charges originating from his role in a deadly car accident in 2020. The charges include committing a criminal offense that results in somebody’s death and malfeasance.
The state senate found Ravnsborg deceived detectives and misused his workplace. The votes on both charges disallow the first-term Republican politician from holding workplace in the future.
In September of 2020, Ravnsborg hit Joseph Boever, 55, with his vehicle on a rural highway. The night of the crash, the Attorney General called 911 to state he believed he had actually hit a deer or another large animal. He, later said he did not know he had actually struck Boever till he went back to the scene of the accident the following morning.
“There’s no question that was a lie,” said Senator Lee Schoenbeck during the trial, which began on June 21. “This person ran down an innocent South Dakotan.”
Schoenbeck likewise knocked Ravsborg for never describing why his automobile left his lane of travel and struck Boever, who was walking on the side of the road.
Ravnsborg declared his vehicle remained in the middle of the road, which is inconsistent with the findings of crash investigators.
The South Dakota Legislature voted 36-31 to impeach Ravnsborg on April 12.
“Our top law enforcement officer has misled law enforcement during the investigation of his crimes,” Representative Will Mortenson during the debate. “Never before in our state’s history has it been that a state official criminally ended the life of one of our citizens, and then refused to resign from his post.”
Mortenson, a Republican, carried the impeachment resolution.
Ravnsborg had told the House he believed he would be “vindicated” during the Senate trial. He was suspended from his tasks while awaiting the senate trial. At the time of your house vote, Ravnsborg had actually not resigned from his position.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem called for Ravnsborg’s resignation in February after Hyde County deputy state lawyer Emily Sovell charged the attorney general with three 2nd-class misdemeanors.
“Now that the investigation has closed and charges have been filed, I believe the Attorney General should resign,” Noem said in a statement, per KELOLand. “I have reviewed the material we are releasing, starting today, and I encourage others to review it as well.”
According to AP News, “Ravnsborg has argued that the governor, who has positioned herself for a possible 2024 White House bid, pushed for his removal in part because he had investigated ethics complaints against Noem.”
Noem stated the Senate’s vote raised a “dark cloud” from the Attorney General’s Office.
“It is now time to move on and begin to restore confidence in the office,” she stated on Twitter.
The Governor will now choose Ravsborg’s interim replacement, who will hold the office till the general election in November.
Ravsborg pled no contest to two misdemeanor traffic charges in August and never went to jail for his involvement in Boever’s death. He also settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Boever’s widow in September of 2021– the terms of which have actually not been made public.
H/T Timcast
