South Dakota Attorney General Impeached Over Fatal Crash

Ravnsborg, a Republican, is the first official to be referred to in South Dakota history. He will be removed from office at least temporarily pending the historic Senate trial, which requires a two-thirds majority to be convicted on referral charges. The Senate has to wait at least 20 days for its trial to take place, but has not yet set a date. Ravnsborg did not dispute a couple of road accidents last year, including the illegal lane change. He has described the death of Joseph Boever as a tragic accident. Voting for the state attorney general’s referral, the Republican-controlled House accused Ravnsborg of committing crimes that resulted in the death of someone, making “numerous falsifications” to law enforcement officers after his accident and used the office to criminal investigation. A Senate conviction would mean that Ravnsborg would be barred from holding any state office in the future. “When it comes to the life of one of your citizens, I think it was very important for everyone,” said Republican MP Will Mortenson, who introduced the referral articles. A Ravnsborg spokesman did not respond to a request for comment after the vote. Attorney General Tim Bormann’s chief of staff said his staff would be “professionally dedicated” to his job, while Ranbsborg was forced to take leave. Ravnsborg, who took office in 2019, was returning home from a Republican dinner in September 2020 when he struck and killed Boever, who was walking on a rural highway. A sheriff who responded after Ravnsborg called 911 initially said it was a collision with an animal. Ravnsborg said he did not realize he had hit a man until he returned the next day and found the body. The highway patrol concluded that Ravnsborg’s car had completely slipped over the freeway shoulder before hitting Boever, and police investigators later said they did not believe some of Ravnsborg’s statements. Parliament rejected the recommendation of a majority report backed by the GOP by a special inquiry committee, which argued that anything wrong was not part of its official duties “in power”. But even Republican lawmakers who have argued that his actions did not meet the constitutional grounds for referral have said that Ravnsborg should resign. …

title: “South Dakota Attorney General Impeached Over Fatal Crash " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-23” author: “Rose Ropers”

Ravnsborg, a Republican, is the first official to be referred to in South Dakota history. He will be removed from office at least temporarily pending the historic Senate trial, which requires a two-thirds majority to be convicted on referral charges. The Senate has to wait at least 20 days for its trial to take place, but has not yet set a date. Ravnsborg did not dispute a couple of road accidents last year, including the illegal lane change. He has described the death of Joseph Boever as a tragic accident. Voting for the state attorney general’s referral, the Republican-controlled House accused Ravnsborg of committing crimes that resulted in the death of someone, making “numerous falsifications” to law enforcement officers after his accident and used the office to criminal investigation. A Senate conviction would mean that Ravnsborg would be barred from holding any state office in the future. “When it comes to the life of one of your citizens, I think it’s very important for everyone,” said Republican MP Will Mortenson, who introduced the referral. A Ravnsborg spokesman did not respond to a request for comment after the vote. Tim Bormann, the attorney general’s chief of staff, said his staff would be “professionally dedicated” to his work, while Ranvsborg was forced to take leave. Ravnsborg, who took office in 2019, was returning home from a Republican dinner in September 2020 when he struck and killed Boever, who was walking on a rural highway. A sheriff who responded after Ravnsborg called 911 initially said it was a collision with an animal. Ravnsborg said he did not realize he had hit a man until he returned the next day and found the body. The highway patrol concluded that Ravnsborg’s car had completely slipped over the freeway shoulder before hitting Boever, and police investigators later said they did not believe some of Ravnsborg’s statements. Parliament rejected the recommendation of a majority report backed by the GOP by a special inquiry committee, which argued that anything wrong was not part of its official duties “in power”. But even Republican lawmakers who have argued that his actions did not meet the constitutional grounds for referral have said that Ravnsborg should resign. “He should have resigned, he should have done the decent thing,” said House Speaker Spencer Goss, who oversaw the House inquiry and voted against the referral. The articles of the petition required the approval of the majority of the 70 members of the Parliament and were voted with only one vote. Of the 36 people who voted in favor, eight were Democrats and 28 were Republicans. The 31 against him were all Republicans. Republican MP Scott Odenbach resigned because he had given legal advice to the attorney general after the accident. Two other Republicans were absent. Ravnsborg, who had largely remained silent about the crash and was absent from the vote, sent a couple of provocative letters to lawmakers Monday night urging them not to blame him. “In a few hours, your vote will be a precedent for years to come,” Ravnsborg wrote. “No state has ever referred an elected official for a car accident.” He also accused Republican Gov. Christie Noem of meddling in the investigation and that he supported the referral because of the attorney general’s inquiries into her conduct. After Ravnsborg clashed with the governor after the accident, he sent a couple of ethical grievances against Noem to the State Government Responsibility Council. His office is also investigating whether an organization aligned with the governor violated the campaign finance disclosure laws. Noem praised the vote on Twitter, writing that the House “did the right thing for the people of South Dakota and the family of Joe Bover.” The decision brought some relief to his family, who photographed his wedding as they watched from the Parliament gallery during the voting. They have denounced the prosecution as a “slap in the face” for Ravnsborg. “We are one step closer to justice. We’re not done, “said Boever’s cousin Nick Nemec. “Now we just need the help of the Senate on this because these laws need to change badly,” said Jennifer Boever, who was married to Boever. “People are injured and killed and the pedestrian has no self-defense against a 4,000 pound (1,814 kg) vehicle.