Attorney General Jackley Vows to Work with Republican and Democrat Legislators to Strengthen Conflict of Interest Laws
PIERRE, S.D. – On March 16, 2016, Attorney General Marty Jackley announced the filing of criminal charges on three individuals associated with grant monies involving the Gear Up Program. All three individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty. In response to public questioning at the announcement, Attorney General Jackley indicated that no criminal conflict laws exist for the conduct at issue, but vowed to work with Republican and Democrat legislators to strengthen our conflict laws in South Dakota. This included legislators present at the announcement.
On March 23, 2016, the South Dakota Democratic Party issued a release regarding public corruption in which the Attorney General has the following response:
“I agree with the Democratic party leaders that government corruption is too important to play politics with, and I vow to work with Republican and Democrat legislators that want to strengthen and improve our conflict laws to better protect taxpayer monies. Although as Attorney General my primary responsibility is to enforce the laws that are passed by the legislature, it is my desire to work with legislators in strengthening our laws. This includes addressing direct conflicts of interest, reporting the discovery of fraud and criminal conflict violations to the Attorney General, and an enforcement measure greater than a misdemeanor for both a deterrent value and for prosecutors to address inappropriate conduct,” said Attorney General Jackley.
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Shocking! Marty McJackle is in image control mode after he failed to collaborate with the legislature the past few years over conflict of interest legislation. Instead of testifying in committee, he’s using press conferences to score political points with the public. You’re late to the party Marty.
He just threw the GOP completely under the bus. When did democrats become the gold standard?
“I agree with the Democratic party leaders that government corruption is too important to play politics with,”
Big Jackley fan.
This is a major gaffe making dems look good.
My question is where was Jackley during session on this issue?
Maybe he’s one of the few non-partisan Republicans. Perhaps the only one in SD.
I’m left scratching my head.
After Daugaard through in with the SDDP this session the last thing we need is Marty throwing in with them too.
If you haven’t been paying attention, the only games being played at the Capitol are by those with offices in the Capitol. Jackley attempted to strengthen the DUI laws and the game players killed it in conference committee. The chair of judiciary has deep connections with the current administration (https://sos.sd.gov/CampaignFinance/CFDonorDisplay.aspx?DonorID=236&DescCat=3) and we are only going to see the gamemanship be stepped up.
With law enforcement, the counties, and the state’s attorneys on one side, and the Capitol on the other, there is a deep rift caused by the fact that “the state” doesn’t want to pay for locking people up and wants to push that cost on the counties. That is why you will not see much in the way of increased penalties for anything, be it DUIs, conflicts, or anything else.
Anytime law enforcement has wanted to improve public safety since SB 70, the bills have been quietly killed or changed so much as to no longer have their intended effect.
Go back and watch the press conference. Jackley did not call anyone out, but responded to a question from the public. And to say that the GOP was thrown under the bus is wrong at best, and dishonest at worst. Open government, transparency, and public safety is not a political issue. Agreeing with someone on the other side of the isle doesn’t make you a turn coat, it simply means they said something you agree with
The dems don’t need anyone to make them look good because the actions of our republican leaders are doing that for them. Just because you are republican party member doesn’t mean you can’t denounce such pathetic behavior from members of your party. Lots of heads should roll based on the happenings of the past few years. When it comes to stealing taxpayers dollars, I don’t care what party you belong to, I want you out. Call a spade a spade. Most of you worry too much about party politics which is why so many young people are turned away from it. If you can’t get out of the way of fixing the problem, then you are apart of it. Why does Schopp even have a job? Daugaard looks like a moron in all of this with him standing behind numbskulls. The entire DOE needs to be audited along with every grant dollar that has been received.
Dan your a Republican right? Why not work from within the party?
I’ll give you a response this time since I feel it is important for people to understand that we can be critical of our own party members. Yes, I am. I do work within the party through monetary support and services. I will not keep quiet about corruption within our own party for fear of negatively affecting my party. I’m a firm believer of checks and balances. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. We are starting to reap the products of what happens when no one keeps our own party in check. They need a refresher every once in a while to know who they work for and all that money they handle isn’t theirs to play with, it’s ours. The lack of oversight that happened at MCEC is a complete disgrace. It just goes to show how out of touch they are becoming. Conflict of interest laws, open government, releases of information, public safety….this is all common sense crap that should be supported by everyone. I don’t care what party you are from. Jackley is right, these are not things to play politics with and if that makes a person mad then they are just as bad as the criminals in these cases by not demanding changes. We are a republican gov’t here in SD, so when crap hits the fan, they get that blame as well. 4 dead kids are on their hands, each and everyone of them who looked the other way while these sweet heart deals were made without checking up on them.