Ravnsborg appointees ousted from Attorney General’s office

Chief of Staff Tim Bormann and Department of Criminal Investigations Director David Natvig were removed from their jobs at the Attorney Generals office mere hours after Vargo assumed the position.
The George S. Mickelson Criminal Justice Center in Pierre, South Dakota. The office is the headquarters for the South Dakota Attorney General.(Austin Goss DNN/KOTA)
Published: Jun. 28, 2022 at 8:38 PM CDT

PIERRE, S.D. - Hours after being appointed by Governor Kristi Noem as interim Attorney General, Mark Vargo has removed two key Jason Ravnsborg appointees from the office.

Chief of Staff Tim Bormann and Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director David Natvig were fired Tuesday from their positions in the office.

“They are no longer employed by the Attorney General’s office,” Vargo confirmed to Dakota News Now/KOTA Territory.

Bormann and Natvig became a central part of the investigation into former Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, after he struck and killed Joe Boever outside of Highmore in September 2020. Ravnsborg exchanged text message correspondences with both Bormann and Natvig in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

The day following the crash, Bormann would return to the scene of the accident with Ravnsborg, when Ravnsborg would eventually discover Joe Boever’s body along Highway 14.

Both Bormann and Natvig were subpoenaed and forced to testify before the House committee considering the impeachment of Ravnsborg.

Neither Bormann nor Natvig, who nearly upset former Attorney General Marty Jackley in a bid to replace Ravnsborg as Attorney General, responded to a request for comment on their departures from the office.

South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation Director David Natvig announced that he would be running to replace his current boss Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg in 2022.

Vargo declined to provide a reason as to why the two were terminated.

“We are not commenting on personnel decisions.”

Vargo will serve as Attorney General until January 6th, 2023.

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