It doesn’t look like Kristi Noem’s ethics investigation is going away anytime soon
It hasn’t been a good week for Kristi Noem.A South Dakota ethics board just determined there is “sufficient evidence” to suggest the vehemently anti-LGBTQ governor “engaged in misconduct” when she intervened to get her slacker daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license approved in 2020 after it was initially rejected because she hadn’t completed the required training.Related: Gay-hating Gov.
Kristi Noem just got a double dose of bad newsAfter denying Noem’s motions to dismiss the ethics complaint earlier this month, South Dakota’s Government Accountability Board unanimously voted on Monday that “appropriate action” could be taken against her for her alleged bad behavior, although it didn’t say what exactly that action should be.Now, the ball is in Noem’s court.The AP reports:The state’s Government Accountability Board appears to be letting Noem decide whether to defend herself in a public hearing or simply accept an “appropriate action” that the board hasn’t detailed.
It presents Noem with a choice: Stick to her defense that she has done nothing wrong and fight the allegations in a public hearing or let the matter quietly die while accepting the board’s action.How Noem handles the matter may not dent her prospects for reelection this year in a race where she’s heavily favored to win a second term.
But it may be important down the road for a politician who has methodically positioned herself to move up in national politics, including for a potential 2024 presidential run.In a statement, Noem’s reelection campaign spokesman, Ian Fury, accused the Government Accountability Board of not following the law.“They have yet to point to one single statute the governor has violated in either of these complaints,” he.
