“Some of the best story tips that I ever got. writing in journalism, over the last several years came from ordinary people.” – Austin Goss

Austin Goss discusses transparency in government, and a recent hit piece about him for his stories about government credit card expenditures.

But this time, I’m going to say something.

A dark-money campaign with ties to Kristi Noem is attempting to undermine the integrity of The Dakota Scout’s reporting on her use of state-issued credit cards by vilifying me, personally.

It has resulted in credible threatening activity not just towards myself, but also my friends at The Scout, and now, my family while I am away from them due to the military. So much so, I felt it appropriate to get law enforcement involved.

All for telling the truth. And unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of taxpayer funded security to protect the ones I love.

Enough is enough. So I’m going to share a bit more backstory than what’s typical. And besides, I’m not a journalist anymore.

The truth continues to be the North Star, and it’s always the best defense. So here’s an indisputable fact: Secretary Noem personally spent far more on her state funded credit cards than $2,000. The credit card records Noem aggressively pressured the state Auditor to keep secret indicate that.

Although they were heavily redacted, Noem is identified on many high dollar invoices associated with the credit card transactions. And because of the work we did to catalogue the records, it took less than five minutes to tally spending she was responsible for well beyond $2,000 – including a dress alteration for President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The records say what they say. I am happy to share them with anyone who has doubts, and I will provide some of them below here.

I am unimpressed by the utter bullshit I’ve seen spun up in an attempt to counter this basic truth, and I personally would encourage the Secretary to follow up on her baseless legal threat.

Beyond this, every story that The Scout has written since receiving the records noted that she and her team both had access to these credit card accounts. Every single one. If you’re not a subscriber — and you should be — I will personally see to it that you get a trial subscription to TheDakotaScout.com so you can judge for yourself.

The question at hand for me and my colleagues was never whether Noem and her team’s spending was appropriate. In fact, I have defended some of her spending choices in private conversations. I have told dozens of people that I do not think a governor should have to spend the night at a roadside motel, nor travel without security, period. I can even understand the argument that her travel was to the state’s benefit as it raised South Dakota’s profile — like it did hers. The real question at hand is whether or not these records should be available for public inspection, and I am proud to say that I stand with the South Dakota taxpayer in believing that they are based both on state law and a general right for the public to know how its elected officials are spending their money.

As far as the narrative that the credit card spending reporting is the result of a personal vendetta, that could not be further from the truth. And frankly, it’s laughable to think two respectable South Dakota journalists like Jonathan Ellis and Joe Sneve — my bosses at the newspaper — would put up with that anyway.

Beyond that, it’s been my understanding that Noem, based on what she has told me, did not pursue the charge that led to my arrest in 2023, further undermining the notion that the reporting on her credit card spending is retaliatory.

While I acknowledge the prank call Noem is attempting to relitigate through a Fox News Digital hit piece was in poor judgement, let me let you in on a little secret – I wouldn’t undo it if I could.

God puts us through challenging times to help us learn, and I learned a lot. I learned who my friends are, who I was in the heat of a fire fight, and what matters to me. To boot, I got a better job that paid more and allowed me to be home with my family consistently.

A last note on the Fox News story. This particular “reporter” obtained a copy of the apology letter I wrote to the former governor. Of note, there was only one copy, sent directly to Noem. Let me just say, I am proud of the content of that letter. I meant every word I wrote, particularly in saying I respected the governor and cared about her family. If I still had a copy of it, I’d publish it myself. Despite her persistent attacks on me, I continue to pray for the Secretary’s success in her new job.

Sec. Noem and I were able to make up after my hiring by The Scout. We both moved on — so I thought — professionally and personally, so much so that we exchanged a few text messages after I flew with her on the state plane for a story assignment. The former governor even expressed interest in adding me to her staff — the third time she had done so since I moved to South Dakota — and gave me an advanced copy of her book, No Going Back.

I read the book, and what followed was journalism about South Dakota’s governor and a potential running mate to President Trump giving an account of meeting with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un — a meeting that never actually happened. While I didn’t like writing that fact and wish I didn’t have to, it was a news story any reporter worth their salt would feel an obligation to cover. And if The Scout didn’t write it, another outlet would. It wasn’t personal for me. But in hindsight, it appears that’s when it became personal for her.

I was removed from state media distribution lists (that means departments under Noem were ordered not to include me on press releases). This is a fact — confirmed by multiple former staffers of Noem.

And now, after again shining a light on actions of Noem that have drawn understandable public criticism of the politician, she’s again responding punitively — and attempting to kill the messengers.

Like the receipts and invoices that show she and her staff spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on state, those are the facts of the story behind the story.

I am proud of the person I am. All I need is my family and God, and I intend to always have both. Everything else is a bonus. I am no stranger to controversies via the news business, and I love the heat of battle.

As Stonewall Jackson once wrote, “I feel as safe in battle as in my bed.”

And that’s because I will always stand on the side of truth, South Dakota taxpayers, and transparency. I don’t give a damn when the bullets are flying from a litany of partisan basement bloggers, b-list staffers and faceless trolls. They say you can learn a lot about a person from their friends and enemies, and I’m pretty damn proud of both of mine.

So to those who wish to wage a war of words on me, that is your prerogative. But stay the hell away from my family.