Lawmakers forgo AG impeachment

Last week the Committee on Investigation released its Majority and Minority recommendation as to impeachment of the Attorney General. That recommendation identified the legal analysis of what is an “impeachable offense” as well as some of the evidence in this case. The Majority recommended that Articles of Impeachment NOT be issued based upon those facts and the law. The Minority recommendation primarily relied upon the idea that the Attorney General issued a statement on the letterhead of his office as opposed to issuing a statement without that letterhead. However, there was nothing associated with the accident that connected the evening of the accident to the Attorney General’s service in his capacity as Attorney General, nor did any of his other actions rise to the level of an impeachable offense.

The report did not include every detail that many of us thought would be important, such as the evidence that other motorists reported asking Joe Boever minutes before the accident if he needed help, as he was observed somewhere on the road or the shoulder and his speech sounded impaired and his movements appeared unsteady. Additional evidence indicated that Joe Boever had a prescription for psychiatric medications filled within a couple of days prior to the accident and there were dozens of those psychiatric pills unaccounted for.  And there was the email and statement of one of Joe Boever’s relatives that indicated Joe Boever told him many months prior to the accident that if he committed suicide, he would do it in this way.  

The obvious conclusion of the prosecuting attorneys, as indicated in their charging decisions as well as their comments in the hearings, was that they did not believe the ultimate analysis of the physical evidence by the investigators. The investigators’ assertion that the Attorney General’s car was entirely on the shoulder of the road made no sense in light of the location of the decedent’s blood drops, which indicated a line of impact originating either back to the roadway or barely onto the shoulder of the road. Also, it’s important to bear in mind the fact that even these investigators testified that they found NO tire tracks on the road that were associated with this accident. (News reports continue to show skid marks that had nothing to do with this accident.)

Since Sept. 12, 2020, there have been several pedestrian fatalities which have resulted in either no charges or similar misdemeanor charges. The only distinction was the fact that this incident involved the Attorney General. And, there was the fact that the prosecutors involved also acknowledged the inappropriate and undue pressure from the Governor and Secretary Price. (Interestingly, there has been very little coverage of the Governor’s own driving record, which almost cost her the election a decade ago against Stefanie Herseth-Sandlin, nor has there been much coverage of Secretary Price’s own damaging of state-owned vehicles when he was working in law enforcement under former Attorney General, Larry Long. In fact, one of those incidents left lingering concerns about Secretary Price’s condition prior to one of his crashes.)

So, here we are with a tragic loss of life, no basis to believe the Attorney General did anything other than to look down at his speedometer, concerns about whether this was a suicide, investigators trying to support an outcome inconsistent with the location of physical evidence, political ambitions and animosity on display from the Governor’s office, interference by a group supporting Gov. Noem, and, finally, members of the public who don’t know what to think based upon bits and pieces of news reports. THEREFORE, I ask that each person with a concern or doubts go to www.sdlegislature.gov and click on “House Select Committee on Investigation”. That will give you the unique and highly unusual opportunity to access everything concerning this accident. As you review the evidence and testimony, it is important to remain objective, just like a jury would do, and not be swept away by the emotional tug of a loss of life, nor by the claims of professionalism or the opinions on the part of some of the investigators.

Finally, on a different subject, Veto Day was rather uneventful. In spite of adequate funds to do so, efforts to reduce taxes were stopped by the Governor. Hopefully, we will see better handling of state and federal money in the next few years. The COVID-related money will continue to be part of our discussions at least through 2026.  

Please go to www.sdlegislature.gov to see what else is coming up in state government during the interim.