Noem taps impeachment prosecutor to replace attorney general

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has appointed the direct prosecutor in the Senate impeachment demo of former Lawyer General Jason Ravnsborg to fill the remainder of Ravnsborg’s term.

Noem’s interim appointment of Pennington County State’s Lawyer Mark Vargo was effective Tuesday.

She pushed for Ravnsborg, a initial-expression fellow Republican, to step down times immediately after he struck and killed a pedestrian with his motor vehicle in 2020, and later pushed for his impeachment. Ravnsborg was ultimately convicted past 7 days of two impeachment counts and was taken out from office.

“Mark Vargo returns integrity, knowledge and security to the Lawyer General’s Office environment,” Noem claimed in a statement.

Vargo will provide till January, when the winner of the November election is sworn in. Marty Jackley, the Republican nominee and Ravnsborg’s predecessor, has Noem’s endorsement. Jackley served as the state’s lawyer common for about a ten years and the state’s U.S. lawyer for 3 a long time.

Ravnsborg was taken off from business office past 7 days after the Senate read testimony about his carry out in the September 2020 crash that killed Joseph Boever, who was struck as he walked along a rural freeway. Ravnsborg experienced announced soon right before his impeachment trial that he would not seek a second phrase. The Senate also voted to prohibit him from keeping general public office environment yet again.

Ravnsborg appeared before a point out ethics board Monday to push for an investigation of Noem, the individual he blames for his impeachment.

As lawyer general, Ravnsborg past year submitted a pair of grievances against Noem to the state’s Governing administration Accountability Board alleging she abused the powers of her place of work by interfering in a condition company as it evaluated her daughter’s application for a genuine estate appraiser license and by misusing condition airplanes.

The board, which is comprised of retired judges, has not made the decision whether to examine Noem, who is operating for reelection soon after a initial term in which she has attained nationwide prominence in her get together and is broadly considered to be a White Home aspirant in 2024.