GOP governor Kristi Noem, potential Trump successor, used state aircraft for political travel

[catbyte]

Daniel Newhauser
February 15, 2021

Newly unearthed flight logs show South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem used a state airplane to travel to right-wing political events around the country, a revelation that has state lawmakers questioning whether she violated a state law forbidding political and personal use of the aircraft.

The flight logs, published for the first time in this report, raise questions about the propriety of tens of thousands of dollars' worth of taxpayer-funded flights to out-of-state events hosted by groups such as the National Rifle Association, Turning Point USA, and an organization affiliated with the late GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, South Dakota politicians and experts told Raw Story.

Also in question is whether Noem wasted taxpayer money by having the state airplane pick her up for official business when she was living at her family home in Castlewood, rather than in the governor's residence in Pierre, the state's capital where the airplane is kept. In one case, the airplane picked her up from her daughter's wedding in the far west part of the state.

In the Mount Rushmore State, all this would not be just an ethics lapse; state law forbids the use of a state-owned aircraft for anything other than state business. There are no exceptions, and the law mandates fines of ten times the cost of the flight for a plane's misuse.

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https://www.rawstory.com/kristi-noem-2650536372/

[DonViejo]

1. There's a good ongoing discussion about this article...

here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142695782

[tanyev]

2. She's demonstrating how South Dakotans should make "wise and well-informed

decisions for themselves and their families” rather than, you know, obeying laws.

[The Roux Comes First]

3. Of Course She Did!

It's part of the pre-qualification process for 's these days.

But rewarding to think of actual mandatory fines. Bring it on!