State of SD will not appeal; pro-life donor will remain anonymous

As harassment and intimidation of pro-life donors takes off in other directions, the State of South Dakota announced this morning they will no longer continue the legal battle to make public the name of a large, in state, VoteYesForLife donor. From the Argus Leader…

South Dakota officials have reached an agreement that ends a legal dispute on whether a state lawmaker had to make public the name of an anonymous donor who gave $750,000 to an unsuccessful campaign supporting a proposed abortion ban in 2006.

Attorney General Marty Jackley, Secretary of State Chris Nelson and state Rep. Roger Hunt of Brandon announced the agreement, which provides that no further appeals or claims will be filed in the case. The agreement means the name of the anonymous donor will not be released.

Thanks to Marty and Chris for finally letting this go.

UPDATED FROM ARGUS LEADER:

Attorney General Marty Jackley, Secretary of State Chris Nelson, Promising Future, Inc. and State Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, announced today that the state will take no further legal action to force the release of the donor's name. In exchange, Hunt will waive claims to attorney's and legal fees associated with previous legal action….

A statement from Jackley's office explains that the passage of a new campaign finance law since the donation will keep such an incident from happening again.  “While the parties do not necessarily agree upon the legal issues and obligations of campaign finance laws as they existed in November of 2006, the recent legislative amendments to South Dakota's campaign finance disclosure requirements address many of the concerns raised in the litigation,” the statement says.