Attorney general impeachment panel turns attention to calls pushing for Jason Ravnsborg ouster

State lawmakers tasked with investigating Jason Ravnsborg say they're being pressured through a series of targeted telemarketing calls to toss the South Dakota Attorney General from office.

But uncertainty about who is behind the calls has the House Select Committee on Investigation widening the scope of the impeachment probe that began nearly three months ago.

"It is clear to me that whoever is behind this movement is trying to impede, influence or taint the ongoing investigation of this committee," said Rep. Spencer Gosch, the Glenham Republican who's serve as House Speaker and chairman of the nine-member investigation committee.

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According to Gosch and others, like Reps. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids; Kevin Jensen, R-Canton; Steve Haugaard, R-Sioux Falls; and House Minority Leader Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, members of the House Select Committee on Investigation on Monday began receiving hundreds of phone calls urging them to impeach Ravnsborg, who struck and killed a pedestrian with a vehicle he was driving in September 2020.

They characterized the calls as "nonfactual, distasteful and inappropriate." And based on an official statement released by the committee through the House Speaker's office Thursday, the calls were coordinated by a private, out-of-state telemarketing company that specializes in political marketing.

However, the calls did not have a disclaimer identifying who is paying for the calls, and Gosch said late in the day Thursday that it's been determined the calls are being made by a company called Grand Solutions, Inc. based in Warren, Ohio.

Multiple attempts by the Argus Leader to contact the company and its owner, listed in the Ohio Secretary of State's Office's online files as Angel Kane, were unsuccessful.

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None of the committee members who spoke with the Argus Leader would speculate on record who might be behind the calls. But Smith said it's clear whoever it was has a desire to see Ravnsborg impeached.

"The more I listened, ... it felt to me like 'impeach Ravnsborg' was what their goal was," he said. "It was odd, to say the least."

Both Gov. Kristi Noem, who's publicly called for Ravnsborg's removal from office and has been previously accused of meddling in the House's impeachment investigation, and the family of Joe Boever, the man killed by the attorney general, denied any involvement in the calls.

During a press conference Thursday morning, Noem said she was made aware of the calls earlier in the week but is unaware of their origins.

"I don't (know who is behind them), other than the speaker is the one who told me about them and made me aware," she said.

The Noem campaign for re-election to governor, as well as a spokesman for Marty Jackley, who's seeking the GOP nomination for attorney general in the 2022 election, also deny any involvement.

The House Select Committee on Investigation is expected to re-convene Monday. The meeting will not be open to the public, but it's anticipated that the call as well potential subpoenas summoning additional witnesses to testify will be discussed.

"We are looking into who is behind this," Gosch said.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota attorney general impeachment committee targeted by calls