S.D. court may unseal investigation of billionaire Sanford

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PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Supreme Court Tuesday weighed whether to unseal a hunt warrant and affidavits successful an probe into billionaire banker-turned-philanthropist T. Denny Sanford for imaginable possession of kid pornography.

The tribunal documents are sealed and notation lone to “an implicated individual," and attorneys did not sanction Sanford arsenic they made their arguments. However, 1 idiosyncratic briefed connected the lawsuit by instrumentality enforcement told The Associated Press that the proceeding progressive Sanford and a ineligible effort by media organizations to unseal tribunal records successful the investigation. The idiosyncratic demanded anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to sermon the investigation.

The attorneys astatine the proceeding besides matched the lawyer representing Sanford, erstwhile South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, and those for 2 media outlets — ProPublica and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader — that reported past twelvemonth Sanford had been investigated for possession of kid pornography.

Sanford has not been charged with immoderate crime.

The 85-year-old is the state's richest man, worthy an estimated $2.8 billion, but has vowed to “die broke,” and his sanction adorns dozens of buildings and institutions successful South Dakota and beyond.

Even aft the probe was reported past year, Sanford donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the South Dakota authorities and the state's largest employer, Sanford Health. Some of the state's apical lawmakers, including Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, person not distanced themselves from Sanford.

ProPublica archetypal reported that South Dakota investigators had obtained a hunt warrant, citing 4 unidentified sources. Two radical briefed connected the substance by instrumentality enforcement confirmed the probe to the AP. They demanded anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to sermon it.

Sanford’s physics devices came to the attraction of investigators with the South Dakota lawyer general’s bureau aft a exertion steadfast reported that kid pornography had either been sent, received oregon downloaded connected his device, according to 1 of the radical who spoke to AP.

Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg determined determination was capable grounds to determination toward prosecuting Sanford, but passed the lawsuit to the U.S. Department of Justice due to the fact that it spanned to Arizona, California and Nebraska, according to some people. Federal prosecutors person fixed nary denotation that they are bringing charges against Sanford, and Ravnsborg has not dropped plans to prosecute him if the Justice Department declines, according to some people.

The Justice Department and the South Dakota lawyer general's bureau did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the investigation.

Jackley argued Tuesday that South Dakota courts had eventual authorization implicit tribunal records and should not heed a authorities statute that presumes them to beryllium unfastened to the public. He pointed retired determination has ne'er been a ailment oregon indictment filed against the “implicated individual.” He said helium could not remark connected whether the lawsuit progressive Sanford.

Jackley said successful a connection aft the probe was reported past year: “Although we cognize precise small astir immoderate authorities oregon national enquiry relating to Mr. Sanford, we bash cognize those authorities liable for investigating allegations evidently did not find accusation oregon grounds that supported oregon resulted successful immoderate transgression charges.”

Jon Arneson, an lawyer for the Argus Leader, told the authorities Supreme Court that the lawsuit boiled down to the public's close to entree tribunal documents.

Jeffrey Beck, an lawyer for ProPublica, said: “This is simply a citizen, saying, ‘I privation my sanction removed from it due to the fact that it’s embarrassing,."

Immediately aft the probe was revealed, organizations, universities and governments stopped accepting Sanford's donations. But successful South Dakota — wherever his sanction adorns the largest employer, the largest indoor arena, and the largest charitable checks — the distancing was short-lived.

This year, Noem spearheaded an effort to make a assistance endowment with $100 cardinal from Sanford and First Premier Bank, the fiscal instauration helium founded. He attended a measure signing for it successful March with Noem and respective apical authorities lawmakers.

First Premier is known for issuing high-interest recognition cards to those with mediocre credit. Sanford, present retired, started it successful 1986 amid a unreserved by lenders to instrumentality vantage of South Dakota’s lax lending laws.

Sanford told the AP successful 2016 that helium wanted his luck to person a affirmative interaction connected children aft his hardscrabble puerility successful St. Paul, Minnesota. His parent died of bosom crab erstwhile helium was 4, and by the clip helium was 8, Sanford was moving successful his father’s covering organisation company. He, on with 2 siblings, lived successful a tiny apartment.

Stanford has since fixed distant adjacent to $2 billion.

“You tin lone person truthful galore cars and each of that benignant of worldly truthful enactment it into thing successful which you tin alteration people’s lives,” Sanford said successful 2016.

Sanford Health CEO Bill Gassen announced successful March that the billionaire was donating an further $300 cardinal to the infirmary strategy that bears his name. He told South Dakota Public Broadcasting astatine the clip that it took the reports of the probe seriously, but was “satisfied that they were not substantiated.”

Sanford has fixed periodically to Republicans, including Donald Trump. In November 2019 -- earlier the probe was reported -- Sanford donated $20,600 to a associated fundraising committee for Sen. Mike Rounds and the state’s Republican party, arsenic good arsenic $10,000 straight to the South Dakota GOP and $5,600 to Rounds’ reelection campaign.

Last year, helium gave $6,000 to a fundraising committee for erstwhile Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler. The committee returned fractional of that, according to the Federal Election Commission.

But Sanford's largest checks person gone to universities, wellness attraction organizations and children’s charities. He started his large charitable giving successful 1999 with a $2 cardinal donation to the Children’s Home Society of South Dakota, which aides victims of home violence, maltreatment and neglect. He has since fixed $69 cardinal to the organization.

The authorities Supreme Court has not fixed a timeline connected erstwhile it volition regularisation connected the case.

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This communicative was archetypal published connected Aug. 24, 2021. It was updated connected Aug. 25, 2021 to close the attribution of a punctuation to ProPublica lawyer Jeffrey Beck.

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Associated Press newsman Jacques Billeaud successful Phoenix, Arizona, contributed to this report.

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