Fox News has a big story on DHS Secretary and former Governor Kristi Noem finally having enough with false claims being made against her in the South Dakota media, causing her to issue a cease and desist letter to Sioux Falls website/newspaper the Dakota Scout regarding false allegations about her spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on her state credit card as Governor:
“Specifically, your website repeatedly, and inaccurately, refers to all charges on credit cards used by the Office of the Governor of South Dakota as charges of my client—allowing a conclusion by multiple commenters on the site and other news outlets that my client violated the laws of South Dakota or stole taxpayer funds for her personal use,” it continued. “We demand that The Dakota Scout immediately cease spreading these false, misleading, and inaccurate statements and take immediate and significant steps to correct past inaccuracies.”
The Dakota Scout has for months reported that Noem racked up more than $650,000 in credit card transactions on a government-issued card during her gubernatorial career, which has now grown legs in the state as other outlets publish similar reports.
However, receipts reviewed by Fox Digital, as well as outlined in the cease-and-desist letter, show that Noem used her government credit card about 30 times across her tenure as governor for a total of $2,056.72.
and..
“This is fake news,” Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for Noem in her personal capacity, told Fox News Digital of the outlet’s reports in recent months. “They’ve been told it’s fake news, and it’s been proven to them, but they’re still at it.”
and..
The outlet acknowledged that the governor’s office had requested a correction but brushed off the email, including writing “heh” in the response.
“I have reviewed your letter. We do not comment on pending litigation. Heh,” read the email, which was sent by The Dakota Scout co-founder, Jonathan Ellis.
Read that all here.
The article also goes hard against Austin Goss, one of the primary authors of the articles taking the former Governor to task in their allegations.
The majority of The Dakota Scout’s coverage on the expenses was authored by journalists Ellis and Austin Goss.
Goss previously made national headlines in 2023 when he was arrested for impersonating Noem in what he said was a prank phone call. Goss was arrested in May 2023 after using a prank website to make it appear a phone call was made from Noem’s personal cellphone number.
Again, read that and more here.
The extensive Fox News story even linked to this website (One of my kids said “you’re Fox famous!) regarding my note on Goss potentially running for Auditor.
It’s interesting that the Fox article brings up Auston Goss because after the cease and desist letter was issued and only hours before the Fox News article was posted, Goss announced he’s leaving Pierre for military training in Maryland:
That seems …coincidental.
The bottom line from the Noem camp is that despite the claims being floated in the media, directly she spent far less than they’re claiming, and the expenses were across the office:
The letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, detailed that in 2019 Noem did not have a government-issued credit card, that she spent $55.44 on her card in 2020, $841.21 in 2021, $730.19 in 2022, $429.88 in 2023 and $0 in 2024. The grand total comes to $2,056.72 in expenses on Noem’s card specifically.
Noem’s gubernatorial office told the outlet in the letter that the office of the state auditor initially provided the outlet with a spreadsheet of monthly official expenses “for several state employees, not just the governor,” which Noem’s office said led to the outlet’s “incorrect conclusion that ‘The monthly totals show that Noem spent nearly $650,000 from the time she took office in 2019 through April of this year.’”
Read that here.
According to reports, Noem’s legal team will be sending letters out to a number of other outlets as well.
This actually makes a lot of sense, as I’ve read some of the reports such as detailing when Noem’s team went to Vegas for the “Shot Show” ammunition manufacturers convention. The economic development team was there to recruit ammo manufacturers to come to South Dakota. They’ve been doing a bit of that recruiting in recent years.
It only makes sense that you go where they gather, and they go with a team. If they can hook a big fish that’s nibbling at the idea of coming to SD, the Governor isn’t walking the convention floor – a team is going to be talking with people, and if they can reel someone in, they’re going to have them meet the Gov who tells the state’s story and why they should come, so they have meeting rooms, and a number of associated expenses to pull this kind of thing off. In addition to being the state’s commander in chief – the Governor is the state’s salesman in chief.
Don’t forget – when Governor Mickelson and his team were tragically killed in a plane crash, they were traveling doing economic development. It’s part of the job, so YES, the Governor’s team – and it would be an entire team – spends money to travel and stay at hotels when they’re out recruiting.
Right now, that’s where things sit, as outlets try to make the story juicier (Scout now claims she spent $750,000). We will continue to monitor how this story develops, and whether outlets will be issuing retractions.
