South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has accused the media of 'trying to destroy my children' after a damning report found she summo...
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has accused the media of 'trying to destroy my children' after a damning report found she summoned a meeting with officials in charge of her daughter's failed real estate license application - which was then certified four months later.
Noem's daughter Kassidy Peters, then 26, was denied her application to become a certified real estate appraiser back in July 2020.
Days after the license was denied, the governor called the state employee who ran the agency, the woman's direct supervisor and the state labor secretary for a meeting at her office, together with her daughter, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Peters was then awarded her certification that November, with no further detail given as to why the original rejection was reversed.
The incident raises questions about a possible conflict of interest and abuse of power on the part of the governor, and the state attorney general announced Tuesday he is launching a review.
Kristi Noem left and her daughter Kassidy Peters' right. The South Dakota Governor has accused the media of 'trying to destroy my children' after a damning report found she summoned a meeting with officials in charge of her daughter's real estate license
Noem tweeted that the expose, published by the Associated Press Monday, was 'another example of double standards' in the media
Noem took to Twitter to claim the investigation, published by the Associated Press Monday, was 'another example of double standards' when it comes to media coverage of Republicans and Democrats.
'Listen I get it. I signed up for this job. But now the media is trying to destroy my children,' she tweeted.
Peters began working as a state-registered appraiser - an entry-level job - in 2016 and then applied to become a Certified Residential appraiser in September 2019.
In September 2019, Peters applied to become a Certified Residential appraiser.
In late July 2020, the Appraiser Certification Program moved to deny the license, AP revealed this week.
Noem then allegedly summoned officials who had the power to approve or deny her daughter's application to a meeting on July 27 2020.
State Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman and the head of the state agency that oversees appraiser certifications Sherry Bren were called to the governor's office days after the state agency had moved to deny her daughter the license.
It is not clear exactly what was discussed but it was said to involve discussions about how people get certified and the fact that Peters had been denied her license.
Bren told the AP she had been shown a letter from Kristine Juelfs - Peters' supervisor - in the July 2020 meeting which criticized the governor's daughter not being awarded the contract as an 'inefficient process.'
'In the past week I was notified that my trainee, State Registered Appraiser Kassidy Peters, was denied upgrade of her license to State Certified Residential Appraiser,' Juelfs wrote.
'This came as quite a shock to myself as she has represented the knowledge and skills necessary.'
A week after the meeting, Hultman then demanded Bren retirement, according to an age discrimination complaint Bren filed against the department.
Bren, 70, ultimately left her job this past March after the state paid her $200,000 to withdraw the complaint.
The Republican governor compared the scandal involving her and her daughter to Democrat President Joe Biden's scandal involving his son Hunter and his business dealings in Ukraine, urging people to 'ask the big guy'.
The Republican governor compared the scandal involving her and her daughter to the Democratic president's scandal involving his son Hunter and his business dealings in Ukraine, urging people to 'ask the big guy'. Pictured Joe and Hunter Biden
'This story is just another example of the double standard that exists with the media... going after conservatives and their kids while ignoring Liberals #AskTheBigGuy.'
'The big guy' is the name used to refer to a person thought to be Joe Biden in several emails between Hunter and his business partners before Biden took office.
In one email, dated May 2017, consultant James Gilliar is detailing the terms of a multi-million-dollar deal with Chinese oil giant CEFC.
It reads: '10 held by H for the big guy?'
'H' was thought to be Hunter and 'the big guy' his father, with the message interpreted as Hunter holding 10 percent of the shares in the joint venture on behalf of Joe.
The email was one of dozens found on a laptop that allegedly belonged to Hunter and which were examined in a DailyMail.com investigation.
They appear to show Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine which Donald Trump claimed during the White House race showed Biden was 'corrupt'.
Biden has repeatedly denied being involved in his son's business dealings.
Noem, meanwhile, is the subject of a review by South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg following concerns from state lawmakers and members of the pubic over her alleged involvement in her daughter's license approval.
Ravnsborg said he had been contacted by concerned citizens and legislators.
Sherry Bren (pictured) was called to a meeting with Noem days after Peters was denied her llicense
'I am actively reviewing their concerns and I will be following the steps prescribed in codified law in relation to those questions,' he said.
State Democrats have also called for an investigation into the governor's conduct.
Despite both being Republicans, Ravnsborg and Noem are political foes.
Noem, who is said to be mulling a 2024 White House run, has called on Ravnsborg to resign after he hit and killed a pedestrian in his car last September,
Joseph Boever, 55, was struck and killed while walking along a highway.
Ravnsborg said he thought he had hit a deer.
On Thursday, he general pleaded no contest to a pair of second-degree misdemeanors for the crash and avoided jail time.
Bren said she had been shown a letter from Kristine Juelfs (pictured) - Peters' supervisor - in the July 2020 meeting which criticized the governor's daughter not being awarded the contract
Four months after the meeting arranged by her mom (left), Peters (right) was awarded her certification that November
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg announced Tuesday he has opened a review into the governor's conduct
In an email to colleagues at the time of her retirement she said she had been 'forced' to leave.
'I have been forced to retire by the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Regulation at the behest of the Administration,' she wrote.
'I want each of you to know that I have sincerely done everything possible to avoid this unfortunate circumstance.'
A spokesperson for Noem told AP Monday the report was a political 'attack.'
'The Associated Press is disparaging the Governor's daughter in order to attack the Governor politically - no wonder Americans' trust in the media is at an all-time low,' spokesman Ian Fury said.
Peter said in a statement to the AP that her original application process had been full of 'obstacles.'
'My upgrade to become a Certified Residential Appraiser was very lengthy and I was expected to navigate through many obstacles from the very beginning,' she said.
'I'm glad I have it now and that I have the privilege to serve my clients in South Dakota.'
Certification on the Appraiser Certification Program is denied when an applicant's work samples don't meet minimum compliance with national standards, according to the agency's upgrade procedures.
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