Kristi Noem gives new explanation for scandal -- and says helping her daughter get appraiser license benefitted everyone

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Friday put out a new video in which she acknowledged "streamlining" the process of getting real estate licenses in a way that happened to help her daughter obtain one.

However, she insisted that she didn't give her daughter any specific favors and said that the changes she pushed were for the benefit of everyone.

The Associated Press reported last month the Noem's daughter in 2020 was denied a real estate appraiser license. Shortly after this denial, Noem summoned Sherry Bren, then the director of the Appraiser Certification Program, into her office along with her daughter, who was granted a license shortly afterward.

Addressing the controversy, Noem criticized "speculation and innuendo in the media" and said that the process for applying for an appraiser license was "way too difficult" for most people to achieve.

"Appraisers weren't getting certified and South Dakotans were having to wait much longer to buy a home than in other states," she said. "This system had been broken for decades."

Noem then hinted that Bren was partly to blame, as she had been overseeing the agency for decades.

"There had been some efforts to streamline the process but they were unsuccessful," she said.

Watch the video below.