Meanwhile, an official approached him with financial concerns about the renovations to the Burlington Drive property - namely, that the move and construction work ran roughly $1.5 million over budget. Wrigley said this was all done without his knowledge. Some of those emails were later recovered. Brocker later asked IT to erase his emails, too. Doug Burgum appointed Wrigley to replace Stenehjem. The office ordered a slew of renovations to the property to get it ready.Īt the request of former deputy attorney general Troy Seibel, Brocker - then the executive assistant for the attorney general’s office - directed IT staff to wipe Stenehjem’s state email account immediately after his death. Stenehjem’s office embarked on a lengthy and expensive endeavor to move some of the attorney general’s divisions to a new building at 1720 Burlington Drive in Bismarck. “None of this is out of the ordinary,” he said. He said it’s typical for attorneys to refer cases elsewhere. Scott Louser, R-Minot, asked Wrigley during the meeting. “What happens if we don’t find a state’s attorney that’s ready, willing and able?” Rep. Given that multiple state’s attorneys have already said no, some lawmakers expressed doubt anyone would take up the mantle anytime soon. If a state’s attorney decides to investigate, they would make the final call on whether to file criminal charges. The Montana investigator was stonewalled by a lack of subpoena power.Ī North Dakota attorney wouldn’t have that problem, though. So far, two government entities - the North Dakota State Auditor’s Office and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation - have issued reports attempting to shed light on the case. “I felt like I’ve had to do my own investigation.” “This is a problem with a lot of working parts and miscommunications and ‘This person is doing this’ and ‘This person is doing that,’” said committee chair Rep. Austen Schauer (Amy Dalrymple/North Dakota Monitor) Emily O’Brien, center, chair of the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee, listens to testimony of Attorney General Drew Wrigley Dec. Lawmakers grew increasingly frustrated as the afternoon progressed and questions about the case remained unanswered. Binstock and the commission’s general counsel both attended the nearly four-hour discussion Tuesday before the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee. Rebecca Binstock, the commission’s executive director, told the North Dakota Monitor in an email she could not comment. Wrigley indicated the North Dakota Ethics Commission had also attempted to investigate the matter, but he was not privy to the details. “With my apologies, she’s going to have to find a prosecutor who will look at this,” he said. Wrigley said it’s up to Lawyer to get another state’s attorney on board. Grand Forks County State’s Attorney Haley Wamstad and Morton County State’s Attorney Allen Koppy also declined to investigate, Wrigley said. But a civil servant central to the case, Liz Brocker, now works in her office. Ordinarily, the matter would be referred to Julie Lawyer, the state’s attorney for Burleigh County. North Dakota is struggling to find a prosecutor to investigate the over-budget construction project and deleted emails involving former Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.Īt least three state’s attorneys have already said no, Attorney General Drew Wrigley told a panel of lawmakers Tuesday.
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