Dueling Press Conferences Announce Home Stretch of 2014 Election

With absentee voting starting Friday, the U.S. Senate race heated up Thursday with the state’s two political parties flinging charges and countercharges over issues old and new.

Noon Thursday, the South Dakota Democratic Party held a follow-up news conference with their lawyer, Patrick Duffy, of Rapid City, noting a new charge against EB-5 administrator Joop Bollen — securities law violations.

“Where was the state securities commissioner in all these LLCs and LLPs that were generating securities (the Bollen set up through the EB-5 program)?” Duffy asked rhetorically. “Most of this falls in our wheel house. It should have been investigated a long time ago.”

Duffy said the limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships that Bollen set up for projects there were funded by EB-5 funds were soliciting for investors and should have been registered with state or federal regulators and prospectuses issued to potential investors.

The Rapid City trial lawyer also discussed court filings in California state and federal court where SDIBI was sued and Bollen, who is not a lawyer, attempted to handle the matter himself. Duffy said the declarations filed by former South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long, current attorney general Marty Jackley and other state lawyers show that the state knew Bollen was, “an unfaithful servant.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds was governor during the time of the allegations. All independent polls show him as the front-runner against Democratic challenger Rick Weiland and independents Gordon Howie and former Republican U.S. Senator Larry Pressler.

But just before the Democrat’s news conference at noon, the South Dakota Republican Party issued notice of their own news conference at 2:30 p.m.

At their news conference, S.D. GOP communications director Rob Burgess and party spokesman Dick Wadhams accused the Democrats generally of playing politics with the EB-5 matter and specifically accused Weiland of illegally coordinating with a non-campaign group in running ads critical of Rounds.

As to Duffy’s allegations, Wadhams said “Patrick Duffy can talk all he wants.” Wadhams urged reporters to ask U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson whether or not his office is investigating Rounds or not.”

Wadhams says he doesn’t think Johnson, who is retiring U.S. Senator Tim Johnson’s son, is actually investigating Rounds and will announced that there is no investigation — after the election.

“Brendan Johnson could just come forward and say there are no charges,” Wadhams said.

But Wadhams and the state Republicans had their own allegations against Weiland, saying that it seemed more than coincidental that Weiland’s own TV ad attacking Rounds on the EB-5 matter stopped running Wednesday night while a similar ad attacking Rounds from the liberal Every Voice Action group started playing first thing Thursday morning.

Wadhams said if the Weiland campaign and the EVA coordinating, they are violating federal campaign laws. Wadhams said Weiland had been complaining about “dark money” for a year and a half yet he was the first one to gain its advantage.

Weiland did not issue a statement in response to Wadham’s accusation.

Meanwhile, independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Myers was taking in the two mainstream parties scolding each other while in the back of audience of the Democrat’s news conference.

“We have this ongoing Republicans versus Democrats counter attacks,” the former law professor said. “I’m thinking people it might say its time for someone who is truly independent.”

Absentee voting begins Friday. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 4.