Port: A state lawmaker got a sweetheart deal from the state and it just plain stinks
MINOT, N.D. — Lawmakers this week received a report about that cost-overrun fiasco in the Attorney General’s Office from state Auditor Josh Gallion’s office.
This mess just keeps getting messier.
To catch you up, Attorney General Drew Wrigley was appointed to that post earlier this year to replace his long-time predecessor Wayne Stenehjem who had passed away. Shortly after taking office, Wrigley became aware of a cost-overrun for a new office building that was leased to house staff in his office, including Bureau of Criminal Investigation personnel.
Wrigley immediately referred the matter to the auditor and disclosed the situation to lawmakers. A big part of the problem was the irregular budgeting for the overrun. Lawmakers weren’t made aware of the overrun, nor were they aware of the shifts made in the budget for the Attorney General’s Office to cover the overrun.
Complicating scrutiny of this situation is the fact that email accounts for both Stenehjem and his deputy Troy Seibel were abruptly deleted by Stenehjem’s long-time assistant without any authorization from Wrigley or a supervisor in his office.
