南达科塔州众议院周二启动了一项调查，调查该州司法部长是否应该因去年导致一名行人死亡的车祸而被弹劾。

共和党占主导地位的众议院的相当大一部分投票赞成让一个委员会准备一份报告，并建议是否应该弹劾司法部长杰森·拉文斯博格。由七名共和党人和两名民主党人组成的委员会可能需要几周时间来深入调查坠机事件。该委员会由拉文斯堡的政治盟友和那些要求他下台的人组成。

2018年当选第一任司法部长的共和党人拉文斯堡(Ravnsborg)在8月份对车祸中的两项轻罪没有提出异议，这起车祸导致55岁的约瑟夫·博弗(Joseph Boever)死亡，当时他正走在一条乡村公路上，拉文斯堡用汽车撞了他。拉文斯堡坚称，直到第二天他回到现场并发现尸体时，他才意识到自己杀了一个人。

众议院议员表示，他们首先想知道拉文斯堡是否会因其轻罪定罪、他杀了一名男子的事实或执法协会表示他们不再信任他的办公室而被弹劾。

州宪法规定，像司法部长这样的官员可以因“在任期间的腐败行为、渎职或轻罪”而被弹劾。但是南达科他州从来没有一名州官员被弹劾。

众议院议长、共和党人斯潘塞·戈什说:“我们的第一次会议实际上是坐下来，研究宪法、判例法，得出一个想法。

要求拉文斯堡辞职的州长克里斯蒂·诺姆(Kristi Noem)已经向戈什递交了一个包含坠机调查的硬盘，但他表示，委员会将从公共安全部传唤坠机调查，“只是为了确保准确性。”

拉夫斯堡的办公室没有立即回应对众议院此举发表评论的请求。

共和党众议员威尔·莫滕森首先呼吁拉文斯堡控告今年2月，推动允许公众访问委员会审查的材料。众议院同意公开该材料，但编辑过的机密和“非相关信息”除外

“这在州历史上是前所未有的，这意味着我们需要深思熟虑，”莫滕森说。“记住公众，这里任何受害者的家庭，以及弹劾的主题。”

调查委员会没有安排第一次会议，但戈什表示将在周二或周三晚些时候开会。

South Dakota House votes to launch impeachment probe of AG

PIERRE, S.D. -- South Dakota's House launched an investigation Tuesday into whether the state's attorney general should be impeached for his conduct surrounding a car crash last year that killed a pedestrian.

A sizable majority of the Republican-dominated House voted to have a committee prepare a report and recommend whether Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg should be impeached. It could take weeks for the committee of seven Republicans and two Democrats to delve into the crash investigation. The committee is a mix of Ravnsborg’s political allies and those who have called for his ouster.

Ravnsborg, a Republican who was elected to his first term as attorney general in 2018, pleaded no contest in August to a pair of misdemeanors in the crash that killed 55-year-old Joseph Boever, who was walking along a rural stretch of highway when Ravnsborg struck him with his car. Ravnsborg has insisted that he did not realize he killed a man until he returned to the scene the next day and discovered his body.

House lawmakers said they first wanted to know whether Ravnsborg could be impeached for his misdemeanor convictions, the fact that he killed a man, or that law enforcement associations have said they no longer have confidence in his office.

The state constitution stipulates that officials like the attorney general can be impeached for “corrupt conduct, malfeasance or misdemeanor in office." But a state official has never been impeached in South Dakota.

“Our first meeting is literally to sit down, go through the constitution, go through case law, to get an idea,” said House Speaker Spencer Gosch, a Republican.

Gov. Kristi Noem, who has called for Ravnsborg to resign, has delivered a hard drive containing the crash investigation to Gosch, but he said the committee would subpoena the crash investigation from the Department of Public Safety “just to ensure accuracy.”

Ravnsborg's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the House's move.

Republican Rep. Will Mortenson, who first called for Ravnsborg'simpeachmentin February, pushed to allow public access to the material the committee reviews. The House agreed to make public that material, with the exception of redacted confidential and “nonrelevant information.”

“This is unprecedented in state history, which means we need to be thoughtful,” Mortenson said. “And keep in mind the public, the family of any victims here and the subject of impeachment as well.”

The investigative committee had not scheduled its first meeting, but Gosch said it would meet later on Tuesday or Wednesday.