$42,000 lawsuit settlement adds to costs of border deployments ordered by Noem

South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem’s troop deployment to the country’s southern border now comes with an additional price: $42,000 to settle a lawsuit over a watchdog group’s document request.

The federal government recently paid the money from funds earmarked for the South Dakota National Guard, according to a National Guard spokesperson.

The money went to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, known by its acronym CREW, in Washington, DC. The nonprofit’s work “targets government officials who sacrifice the public interest for special interests and personal gain,” according to its website.

In 2021, Noem deployed 48 Guard troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border, using $1 million donated by Republican billionaire Willis Johnson of Tennessee.

CREW has filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking documents related to the donation and commitment. The South Dakota National Guard denied the request, and CREW has filed a lawsuit against the Guard and the US Army.

Ultimately, the nonprofit obtained files showing that the deployment cost the state almost $500,000, in addition to the $1 million donation. Email records showed that Jeff Marlette, then Adjutant General of the National Guard, was involved in formulating Noem’s language about the donation and commitment despite say publicly that he was not aware of the donation until after the deployment was planned.

CREW criticized the donation and commitment in a press release last year.

“The use of the private donation to activate the troops was widely reported in the national media as not only unprecedented, but also unethical and legally questionable,” CREW said.

CREW’s lawsuit sought not only the release of the documents, but also payment for the organization’s costs and attorneys’ fees. The lawsuit remained pending until September last year, when the parties told the judge they had reached a settlement. The settlement is not included in the public court file, but South Dakota Searchlight obtained it through a records request to the South Dakota National Guard.

The donation-funded deployment was one of three Noem ordered at the country’s southern border from 2021 to this year. The state $2.7 million spent through May, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Johnson’s donation covered $1 million of those costs, and Noem tapped South Dakota’s Emergency and Disaster Fund to cover the rest. Although the troops were deployed to help the state of Texas secure its border, Noem said she won’t ask Texas for refund.