Gov. Kristi Noem sued over release of travel expense records
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is facing a lawsuit after her office refused to release expense records on five out-of-state trips this year to a liberal watchdog group.
American Oversight, an organization that files open records requests and litigation against Republican officials, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Noem, who is in the midst of a reelection campaign and eyeing a bid for the GOP's 2024 presidential ticket. It alleges that the governor's office did not follow the state's open records law by claiming that releasing the records would create a threat to the governor's safety.
In May, the organization had requested expense records, including lodging and travel, for 2022 trips Noem had taken to a Las Vegas hunting convention, a pair of Republican Party events in Wyoming and New York, the Conservative Political Action Conference and a campaign event for Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee in Utah.
American Oversight also said that South Dakota's Department of Labor and Regulation has not responded to its records request for legal expenses associated with negotiating a $200,000 settlement agreement with a former state employee, Sherry Bren. She had filed an age discrimination complaint after she was pressured to retire by Marcia Hultman, Noem's Labor Secretary. Hultman began asking for Bren's retirement in the weeks after Noem's daughter, Kassidy Peters, completed her real estate appraiser licensure — a process in which Noem took a hands-on role.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/gov-kristi-noem-sued-over-165714346.html
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