Aberdeen American News has the Schoenbeck letter to Sutton

By -
Run, don't walk to read a hard copy of today's Aberdeen American News to see the full letter.

But, just to whet your appetite, here's a a couple of snippets as printed in the paper from the letter that Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck sent to Senator Dan Sutton notifying him of the accusations where he allegedly "sexually groped the young man.":

And later in the letter, it sets forth pretty clearly what the actions are that the senate does and does not have the ability to take - which I think it of the utmost importance to note in this case.

The thing to keep in mind which I think has been lost on much (all) of the media coverage, is that this is solely a determination as to whether or not Senator Dan Sutton violated Senate rules.

This is not a hearing to determine if he violated criminal statutes. That's an entirely different process with (what I would argue is) a much stronger burden of proof.

I'm not sure what the legal standards are for hearing of this nature, but they could find him guilty of a violation of senate rules simply based on a preponderance of evidence. Or, it might just be based on a vote of his peers.

But, this letter also notes to "impeach" Sutton, a meeting of the full legislature is required. So, we might see a rather relaxed House of Representatives awaiting whether or not they're even needed.

After all of this process, there's the question of what will happen next January if Sutton wins re-election. If he's found guilty of the accusations, there might be more to do about it if the Senate refuses to seat him.

But, let's get through the first things first.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I sincerely hope that, if he is not reelected, Dan Sutton simply resigns. He could continue to maintain his innocence while saving himself, the page, and the Senate from the spectacle of a special session. There would be no good reason to "stick to your guns" by fighting to retain his seat - when his service is practically over anyway.

Of course, if Dan is reelected, it is an entirely different story. I don't know if the Senate would have to expel him AGAIN (assuming he was expelled the first time), if it would refuse to seat him and declare the seat vacant, or if it would reason that "the voters knew what they were getting" and welcome him back. It's just hard to say.
9:39 PM
Anonymous said…
Well anon, I guess the 1st thing about your comment that boggles me is that people like you just assume that since this allegation is in the news that it did happen and that even if he is innocent he should resign and act like he is guilty. Well then all I have to say to that is that you know nothing. I am very close to this situation and I know exactly what the story is and what the allegations against Dan are. I know with all certainty that Senator Sutton is innocent. The motive behind these allegations is political and nothing else. Mr. Wiese had been blackmailing Dan about bringing this out to the public 8 months ago when they both were considering the whether to seek the Democratic bid for govenor. Mr. Sutton did nothing wrong, the alleged page, was a family friend who Dan treated like a brother. Also Dan's job is his life, and he would do nothing to jepordize that and I mean nothing. As for him resinging his seat, Dan shouldn't because he is innocent. He did nothing to break senate code/rules. The page didn't have to stay in Sutton's room, but did so (with his parent's blessing) to save money. When this is all said and done, Mr. Sutton should have his seat back and wiil be proven innocent when all is said and done.
2:24 PM
Anonymous said…
The fact that the page was sharing a motel room with Sen. Sutton through an arrangment with his parents, and the fact that Sutton and Dennis Wiese who were collaborators in the beef plant project in Flandreau are, of course, dismissed as irrelevant because such information emphasizes the absence of even the most casual and cursory checking in getting a context for this story. The beef plant project collapsed and Dan Sutton is involved in trying to recover some money--to the tune of $850,000--that people in Flandreau would like to have back. The two men are now adversaries. Of course, that is irrelevant.
david Newquist wrote this on his blog site thought it was interesting!!!!
5:22 PM
Anonymous said…
I am also very close to this situation and i know the true story...which is DAN SUTTON IS GUILTY. He knows it as well as everyone else. To me it seems that the parents trusted Dan enough to let their son stay with them. Trusting he would not hurt him. It is very obvious that if the son leaves the place feeling extremely uncomfortable considering the friendship him and Dan have had then Dan did something very wrong and with this special session that is supposedly going to happen the truth will come out.
2:30 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A note from Benedict Ar... Sorry. A note from Stan Adelstein why he thinks you should vote Democrat this year.

By -
Image
(Click on letter to enlarge) And while it may not be printed at taxpayer expense, I don't see a disclaimer, either. When they hold the special session (supposedly at the end of November) , since he's left them already, I think his colleagues should expel him from the caucus. Sure. At that point it's only going to be symbolic. But since he's already said he's running again in the near future, sometimes symbolism is enough.
Read more

Corson County information on Klaudt Rape Charges

By -
Here's some of the information on the Corson County Charges: COUNT I That on or about December of 2005, in the County of Corson, State of South Dakota, Ted Alvin Klaudt did commit the public offense of SECOND DEGREE RAPE (SDCL 22-22-1(2)) in that he did accomplish an act of sexual penetration with his foster daughter, A.M., through the use of force or coercion; and as to COUNT II That on or about July or August of 2006, in the County of Corson, State of South Dakota, Ted Alvin Klaudt did commit the public offense of SECOND DEGREE RAPE (SDCL 22-22-1(2)) in that he did accomplish an act of sexual penetration with his foster daughter, A.M., through the use of force or coercion; and as to COUNT III That on or about July or August of 2006, in the County of Corson, State of South Dakota, Ted Alvin Klaudt did commit the public offense of SECOND DEGREE RAPE (SDCL 22-22-1(2)) in that he did accomplish an act of sexual penetration, separate and distinct from the act alleged in Count II, with
Read more

It's about health, not potential promiscuity.

By -
As the only South Dakota blogger out with 5 daughters, I feel I need to weigh in on the whole discussion that's occurring with regards to the HPV vaccine, and Governor Rounds' proposal to make it available. My family (including my three oldest girls) watched my mom, their grandmother, succumb slowly and painfully to cancer which spread throughout her body. If a similar fate from a different type of cancer was preventable through a simple shot, why wouldn't anyone advocate for it? At the age most of my kids are going to be getting it, they're still playing with barbies, and negative influences such as most of the programming on MTV, and other assorted trashy television is verboten in my house. All they're going to know about this vaccination is that it's a shot, just like for teatnus or measles. They'll go "Ow, I don't want a shot," and that will be it. Just another mark on their vaccination record. One check box for DPT, one for HPV, and so on
Read more