Kristi Noem Denies She Helped Daughter Get Real Estate Appraisal Certification: ‘I Never Once Asked for Special Treatment’

Embattled South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) posted a video message on Friday amid the scrutiny over the alleged forced retirement of the woman who headed the state’s real estate appraiser certification program. Noem’s daughter, Kassidy Peters, was initially denied her certification but received it months later, after Noem summoned the program head to her office.

“There’s a lot of speculation and innuendo in the media and I wanted to take a second to set the record straight. I never once asked for special treatment for Kassidy,” Noem said in the video. “She is my daughter and I’m proud of her. I raised her to accomplish things on her own just like my parents raised me.”

Noem suggested that the meeting with the program head, Sherry Bren, was not about forcing her retirement but was instead about fixing the “broken” system which has made it difficult for appraisers to become certified.

“Appraisers weren’t getting certified and South Dakotans were having to wait much longer to buy a home than in other states,” she said. “This system had been broken for decades. It was designed to benefit those who were already certified and to keep others out.”

Bren, 70, filed a discrimination complaint saying she was given six months to retire due to her age. She later withdrew the complaint in exchange for a $200,000 settlement.

In the video, Noem stressed that her daughter “followed all the same steps as other appraisers” and that her state has been working to streamline the process and requirements for all applicants.

“We’ve been working for three years now to eliminate barriers to licensure,” she said. “We want to roll out the red carpet and cut the red tape. Now those are the facts, but the media is ignoring those facts. They’d rather attack my daughter in order to score cheap political points against me.”

Noem has found herself under intense scrutiny in recent days for matters besides the real estate appraising. Some media outlets began circulating reports earlier this week that she was having an affair with Corey Lewandowski (she has unequivocally denied the rumors); later reports of Lewandowski’s alleged sexual misconduct caused her to severe all ties with him.

Watch above, via YouTube.