Kristi Noem won’t face charges for flights uncovered by Raw Story

GOP Gov. Kristi Noem will not face criminal prosecution for use of South Dakota government aircraft that was originally uncovered in an exclusive February report by Raw Story.

"Hughes County State's Attorney Jessica LaMie said in a statement that there was 'no basis to pursue' any actions on the allegations that the Republican governor had misused the state plane or that the plane's flight records had been altered," the Associated Press reported. "She called an allegation that flight records had been tampered with 'frivolous.'"

A complaint over the airplane use was filed by former GOP Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who had clashed with Noem after she pushed him to resign after he killed a man.

"Noem used the state plane six times to fly to out-of-state events hosted by political organizations, including the Republican Governors Association, Republican Jewish Coalition, Turning Point USA and the National Rifle Association," the AP reported.

"Raw Story, an online news site, first reported the trips, which the governor’s office defended as part of her work as the state’s 'ambassador' to bolster the state’s economy."

State's Attorney LaMie was given the case after a recusal Attorney General Mark Vargo, who was appointed by Noem after Ravnsborg was impeached and convicted.

Noem was facing fines equal to ten times the cost to South Dakota had she been convicted for using state-owned aircraft for anything other than official state business.

Read the initial Raw Story report.

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