The search warrant affidavits were still not publicly available as of Friday evening.
As part of arguments in state court over the release of the documents, Jackley said the investigation revealed that his client’s email accounts were hacked. Both news outlets went to court for access to affidavits for search warrants. The investigation was first reported in 2020 by ProPublica and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
The person was not allowed to discuss the case at the time and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ravnsborg is on leave pending his trial in June on impeachment charges for his conduct after he struck and killed a pedestrian with his car in 2020.Ī person briefed on the matter by law enforcement told The Associated Press last year that Sanford’s electronic devices came to the attention of state investigators after a technology firm reported that child pornography had either been sent, received or downloaded on his device. The Department of Justice declined to comment Friday when asked if a federal investigation is ongoing. A state filing in January said both state and federal investigations were continuing at the time. South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg had earlier requested the involvement of federal law enforcement. Sanford appreciates the public acknowledgement by the SD Attorney General’s office that the DCI has concluded its investigation and they have found no prosecutable crime,” Marty Jackley, Sanford’s attorney, said via text. The attorney general’s office had no comment beyond the court filing. The attorney general’s office said in Friday’s court filing that the “South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation has completed its investigation … and has determined that there are no prosecutable offenses within the jurisdiction of the State of South Dakota.” South Dakota investigators in 2019 began searching his email account, as well as his cellular and internet service providers, for possible possession of child pornography after his accounts were flagged by a technology firm. Sanford, a banker turned philanthropist, is the state’s richest man and has donated billions to hospitals, universities and charities. Denny Sanford following an investigation into possible possession of child pornography, saying it found no “prosecutable offenses” within the state’s jurisdiction, according to a court document filed Friday.
The South Dakota attorney general’s office has declined to file charges against billionaire T.