These caught my eye today. They can’t throw each other under the bus fast enough. First up, my home state:
A Colorado election clerk who was indicted on 10 criminal counts has said that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) “encouraged” her to commit the alleged crimes.
In a report on Sunday, The New York Times recounted the “strange tale” of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who has fueled right-wing conspiracy theories claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“Ms. Peters was indicted on 10 criminal counts related to the effort to copy voting equipment software, including attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, identity theft and first-degree official misconduct,” the report explained.
On Friday, Peters deflected blame to Boebert, according to the report.
She said Boebert “encouraged me to go forward with the imaging” of voting machines.
But the lawmaker’s spokesperson insisted that Peters’ claim was false.
Boebert has previously released a statement in support of Peters.
“Many of the constituents I represent have expressed concern about the ongoing investigation into Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters,” Boebert said in 2021. “As many of you know, I have been a vocal opponent of the overreach and targeted nature of the FBI’s activities on a national level.”
Meanwhile in South Dakota:
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Former South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, in his first public comments since being removed from office last week, appeared before a state ethics board Monday to press for an investigation of fellow Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, the person he blames for his impeachment over his conduct surrounding a 2020 fatal car crash.
As attorney general, Ravnsborg last year filed a pair of complaints against Noem to the state’s Government Accountability Board alleging she abused the powers of her office by interfering in a state agency as it evaluated her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license and by misusing state airplanes. The board, which is comprised of retired judges, has not decided whether to investigate Noem and is working with an attorney to evaluate the merits of the complaints.
Ravnsborg appeared at the Government Accountability Board’s meeting for the first time since he initiated the complaints last year and said he was ready to provide additional information.
He made it clear he thinks an investigation could have far-reaching consequences for Noem, who is running for reelection after a first term that vaulted her to national prominence. She’s widely considered to be a White House aspirant in 2024.
“I’m not going to let this just drop. I think that they should pursue it and I do believe that, ultimately, the House will pursue it,” Ravnsborg told The Associated Press, suggesting that Noem could also face impeachment for her actions.
The former attorney general denied that he was out for revenge against Noem, although he blames her for his removal.
Noem and Ravnsborg became political enemies after he struck and killed a pedestrian in 2020. Noem publicly called for Ravnsborg to resign and later pressed the Legislature to impeach him. The House eventually did, and the Senate last week convicted him of two charges: committing a crime that caused someone’s death and malfeasance for misleading investigators and misusing his office.
Ravnsborg blamed “emotion and political pressure” for tilting the Republican-controlled Senate against him and said Noem sought his removal because he had filed the complaints to the Government Accountability Board.
“I think that among these two complaints — and there’s other scandals that she’s involved in — that she did not want the information to come to light,” he said.
Noem’s spokesman Tony Mangan declined to comment on the board’s proceedings or Ravnsborg’s remarks.
The board has tapped Sioux Falls attorney Mark Haigh, who primarily specializes in business and health care law, to help evaluate Ravnsborg’s complaints. Haigh also has experience arguing before juries, administrative boards and licensing agencies.
The Associated Press reported last year that the governor held a meeting in July 2020 that included her daughter and key decision-makers in her application for an appraiser license just days after the agency moved to deny the license. A Republican-controlled legislative committee concluded that Noem’s daughter, Kassidy Peters, got preferential treatment.
Noem has rejected that finding, saying her daughter followed the same process as other applicants.
But the agency’s former director, Sherry Bren, told the legislative committee last year that she felt “intimidated” at the July 2020 meeting, where she said Peters’ unsuccessful application was discussed in detail and a plan was formed to give her an unprecedented, additional chance to show she could meet federal standards. Noem’s office has said the plan was in the works before the meeting.
Peters got her license four months later. Shortly after that, Bren retired under pressure from Noem’s cabinet secretary. She eventually received a $200,000 settlement to withdraw an age discrimination complaint.
Ravnsborg’s other complaint was sparked by a report from Raw Story, a news website. Noem in 2019 used state airplanes to travel to events held by political organizations including the National Rifle Association and the Republican Jewish Coalition, even though South Dakota law bars their use for anything other than state business.
Noem defended the trips as part of her work as an ambassador for the state.
The board’s consideration of the complaints began last year and has happened entirely in private meetings. It could either investigate the complaints and potentially hold hearings or dismiss them entirely.
The judges will meet next on Aug. 3.
That’s all I got. We’re celebrating the Avs here right now, so it’s been a nice break of good news between all the doom and gloom. Also, Nora (duck) has to spend the week in isolation to recover from an injury (I will not detail it, but if you have raised chickens or ducks, you might know) and I’ve been bringing Nick in at night to be in the same room (though separated) so he doesn’t stress too much. It’s going to be a long week, keep a good thought as I once again deal with ducks in the house, LOL
This is an open thread
Baud
CaseyL
I’m sorry to hear Nora is ailing; I hope she recovers soon.
I’m delighted to see a bunch of psychotic GOPers, who never should have held any public office or public service position, going for one another’s throats. I’m rooting for serious injuries.
PaulWartenberg
Tampa Bay Lightning fan here.
/takes a moment to compose himself
Goddammit.
/cries uncontrollably
TaMara
@PaulWartenberg: It was a great series and it was a pleasure to watch the LIghtning play. What a goalie!
Kropacetic
1st story: When those defrauding elections demand investigations into election fraud…
2nd: Just classy, upstanding citizens in the Republican Party…
PaulWartenberg
In other “Throwing Each Other Under the Bus” good news, the J6 Committee is calling a surprise witness for Tuesday afternoon at 1:00PM with new testimony and apparently the documentation to back up the claims.
Speculation is fierce – it may be Ali Alexander, major riot organizer who testified to a grand jury last week, or it may be Mo Brooks, who decided to flip after the MAGA primary voters kicked him off the ballot – and it should be stunning major stuff for the committee to interrupt their regular schedule.
Mnemosyne
Whistleblowers rarely have clean hands, so hopefully we’ll get some forward action.
PaulWartenberg
@TaMara:
Vasy is one of the best, but that 7-0 blowout in Game Two was uncalled for. the rest of the team defense just couldn’t help much. And I think with Point out for much of the series, our scoring offense was weaker than needed.
Dan B
@PaulWartenberg: You two are Kraken me up.
Sister Golden Bear
Obligatory Godzilla “let them fight” gif.
Shalimar
I would say rooting for injuries, but Ravnsborg already killed a guy, so they seem to take that way too literally.
Kropacetic
If they brought verifiable, comprehensive receipts, I don’t care about their personal trustworthiness. I trust documentation.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Oh my god, I just heard the audio clip of Rudi pretending he felt like he’d been shot, using what somebody earlier called his “Mom, I can’t do to school today” voice. What a fucking moron.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
https://gfycat.com/acceptablebothimago
zhena gogolia
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: it’s hilarious
hells littlest angel
Tina Peters would be wise not to eat any pork sliders.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Oy, Hayes is in full emo-tweeter mode tonight
O. Felix Culpa
@Baud:
LOL. Nailed it!
Geminid
I think that anyone who follows that idiot Lauren Boebert’s directions deserves what they get.
As for Noehm, I think her reelection is not a certainty. While South Dakota is now reliably red in federal elections, in 2018 Noehm beat Democrat Billie Sutton by less than 12,000 votes out of over 330,000 votes cast. She has made a plenty of news in her state and some, like that detailed by Ravnsborg, is bad news. Noem’s national ambitions are well known and they will cut both ways. Her Democratic opponent is one of the minority leaders in South Dakota’s state legislature, and he will wage a strong campaign.
Splitting Image
Congrats to all of the Avalanche fans here. At least Tampa Bay has the satisfaction of being the team that extended the Maple Leafs’ record-setting run of futility one more year.
I check in on the “Editor in Leaf” site on Fansided now and then. The guy who runs it spent all of last summer seething over the Canadiens stealing the Leafs’ rightful Stanley Cup berth and seems set to spend all of this one inventing new forms of sabermetrics to prove the Leafs are a better team than either the Lightning or the Avs. He has like 10 or 15 regular commenters who keep trying futilely to explain the concept of goaltending. The commenters revert to being right-wing tools when the conversation turns away from hockey.
SpaceUnit
Not sure that “some guy told me to rob the bank” is a great legal defense.
But I ain’t no lawyer.
ETA: Also hooray for the Avs! It’s been a long time coming.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
Ravnsborg is not exactly credible.
The victim’s eyeglasses were found in his car, for Pete’s sake!
Ken
Oh god. A DMCA charge. She should count herself fortunate if she only goes to prison for ten years and has everything she owns seized.
kindness
There has to be a decent Barbie doll nickname for Noem. Republicans sure do love electing pagent winners. Do they think the looks of someone else is going to rub off on them?
Geminid
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: South Dakotans have no need to rely on Ravnsborg’s credibility. Noehm’s abuse of her position were widely reported in local and state media.
David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch
@PaulWartenberg:
Word on the street is the surprise witness is Johnny Depp
Tony G
No honor among fascists.
Betty Cracker
I worry about how much I relish these stories about MAGA-dopes turning on each other. I swear I wasn’t always this spiteful!
Wishing for a speedy duck recovery and waterfowl-free house soon. I’ll reserve comment on the hockey.
Immanentize
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: Seriously, do you not know how crime investigations rely on criminals? Why does Ravnsborg’s crime make him not credible? To me, it makes him way more credible as he knows shit others don’t.
Are you a Noem fanboi?
prostratedragon
Took a moment on “Avs,” me being from Chicago and all. Thought you meant some kind of birdie festival. Then I recalled having heard. Congratulations out there!
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker: In my faith tradition, it’s referred to as a sin against Charity. And I am being forced daily to sin.
Barbara
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: His referral of Noem for investigation preceded the accident.
Jackie
@David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch: According to The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell, it’s not Mo, nor Cipollone, he said on Joy Reid’s show.
That leaves my other guess: Pence. As someone above mentioned, if it was the guy who screamed for equal time, he would have blabbed it already.
zhena gogolia
@David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch: haha
David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch
I’m hoping it’s a real surprise, like Andy Kaufman or Jimmy Hoffa
Immanentize
Nothing to say except this was about five mile from where I used to live in San Antonio: Dozens dead, more injured in trailer
Immanentize
@David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch:
Let it be Andy, please?
Winston
deleted will try again
eclare
@prostratedragon: I had no idea either! I thought it might be some block party on an avenue. I hope Nora has an easy and speedy recovery.
The Thin Black Duke
@David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch: Will he be questioned by Alec Baldwin?
Roger Moore
@Jackie:
It sounds like it’s very likely to be Ali Alexander. He apparently posted something on Twitter about flying to DC to make a surprise appearance tomorrow.
Skepticat
You have ducks (and our best wishes) in the house, and we have f**ks in the House. I much prefer yours.
thisismyonlinenym
The obvious due diligence question is, are Tina Peters and Kyle Peters, husband of Kassidy Peters (aka Kassidy Noem, aka Kassidy Noem-Peters, daughter of Kristy Noem) related?
This is the GQP we’re talking about here. It’s often family related.
Prelim google turns up nothing, other than Tina Peters never seems to identify who her adult children are, or even if she has any.
And yes, I wouldn’t bet fifty bucks there isn’s a blood connection.
O. Felix Culpa
@Immanentize:
Lord have mercy.
lgerard
@thisismyonlinenym:
She had a son who was a Navy Seal. He died in an accident at an air show a few years ago.
Ken
Question for the lawyers, or those who play one on the blog. If the clerk’s statement that Boebert encouraged her illegal acts is supported by evidence, would that be sufficient to get Boebert indicted on the same charges? Or if not that, for conspiracy to commit those illegal acts?
JaneE
I can’t say that a Republican (Boebert) telling another Republican (Peters) to just go ahead and violate the law is even surprising anymore.
OTOH, blaming anyone else for your impeachment after you killed someone and then tried to cover it up – really? Like they say, it isn’t the crime, it’s the cover-up. Even if the ethics charges are retaliation the actual violations stand on their own.
Killing someone isn’t enough to make the GOP drop you, but telling the truth about the 2020 election is. That is some political party, isn’t it?
Mnemosyne
TaMara, our mutual friend Jen the editor says hi.
I used her as a book coach this spring for my novella that’s coming out in an October anthology.
Paul in KY
@Immanentize: He is a lying POS, but you are correct that criminal investigations rely on lying POSes all the time.
thisismyonlinenym
@lgerard: Thank you. I know Peters is a not uncommon name. But these are Republicans after all, and they specialize in nepotism and family grift so I had to ask.
Fraud Guy
Rooting for the injuries?