Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 8K views

    AG Response

    Uploaded by

    Rob Port
    The email summarizes the response to open records requests about the Attorney General's office space lease and 2021 cost overruns. It states that the former Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General's email accounts were deleted in January and May 2022 without authorization. While some emails were found cached on a laptop, efforts to retrieve the deleted accounts were unsuccessful. The response includes available emails and redacts some information permitted by open records law exemptions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    AG Response

    Uploaded by

    Rob Port
    8K views1 page
    The email summarizes the response to open records requests about the Attorney General's office space lease and 2021 cost overruns. It states that the former Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General's email accounts were deleted in January and May 2022 without authorization. While some emails were found cached on a laptop, efforts to retrieve the deleted accounts were unsuccessful. The response includes available emails and redacts some information permitted by open records law exemptions.

    Original Description:

    AG Response

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The email summarizes the response to open records requests about the Attorney General's office space lease and 2021 cost overruns. It states that the former Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General's email accounts were deleted in January and May 2022 without authorization. While some emails were found cached on a laptop, efforts to retrieve the deleted accounts were unsuccessful. The response includes available emails and redacts some information permitted by open records law exemptions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    8K views1 page

    AG Response

    Uploaded by

    Rob Port
    The email summarizes the response to open records requests about the Attorney General's office space lease and 2021 cost overruns. It states that the former Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General's email accounts were deleted in January and May 2022 without authorization. While some emails were found cached on a laptop, efforts to retrieve the deleted accounts were unsuccessful. The response includes available emails and redacts some information permitted by open records law exemptions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 1

    Rob Port <robport@gmail.

    com>

    Office of Attorney General

    -Info-Attorney General <[email protected]> Fri, Jul 15, 2022 at 11:09 AM


    To: "Turley (Forum News Service), Jeremy" <[email protected]>, "Dura, Jack" <[email protected]>,
    Rob Port <[email protected]>

    This responds to Jack and Jeremy’s June 30 requests for the following records, respectively, and Rob’s July 11 request
    for the records being produced to Jack and Jeremy:

    ·        
    Email correspondence from Wayne Stenehjem and Troy Seibel related to the building lease and costs
    associated with the Attorney General’s space leased at 1720 Burlington Drive in Bismarck.

    ·        
    Documents relating to the previous administration’s 2021 cost overrun that was communicated to
    legislators on June 28, 2022.

    Pursuant to Jack and Jeremy’s July 1 telephone conversations with Attorney General Wrigley and Deputy Attorney
    General Ness, the documents at this link (https://apps.nd.gov/itd/filetransfer/downloadByInvitation.htm?id=1-
    be25f2510cc3c8f8f4bf618b68008762)
    include records related to both requests above. However, on January 31, 2022,
    then-Attorney General Stenehjem’s entire state email account was deleted, at the instruction of a nonsupervisory, non-
    attorney employee of the Attorney General’s Office who stated
    the action was approved by then-Deputy Attorney General
    Seibel.

    Similarly, the entire state email account for former Deputy Attorney General Seibel was deleted on May 23, 2022, at the
    instruction of the same nonsupervisory, non-attorney employee of the Attorney General’s Office. There were no pending
    open records requests for the emails when the accounts were deleted. While this action was not authorized by policy or
    supervisory personnel, the employee systematically reviewed the email account and evaluated its content before directing
    that it be deleted.

    Attorney General Wrigley and Deputy Attorney General Ness learned of the account deletions in the first week of July as
    a result of their request to have all responsive emails produced for your open records requests. Immediately upon
    learning
    the accounts were deleted, Attorney General Wrigley and Deputy Attorney General Ness directed that all
    possible attempts be made to retrieve the email accounts.

    Deputy Attorney General Ness and other staff members communicated extensively with the Information Technology
    Division of the Attorney General’s Office and the North Dakota Information Technology Department to ensure every effort
    was made
    to retrieve the emails. Regrettably, this office has now been informed the accounts are unretrievable. Existing
    emails from those accounts which were received by other staff members are included in the records at the link above,
    however. Additionally, on July
    14, this office’s Information Technology Division found some number of emails from Troy
    Seibel’s email account in a cached file on his former laptop. Although his email account was deleted, this cached file is
    essentially a copy of at least some of the emails
    that were in the account. This office is in the process of accessing and
    reviewing those emails as expeditiously as possible to identify any that may be responsive to your requests.

    Pursuant to Deputy Attorney General Ness’s July 8 telephone conversations with Jack and Jeremy regarding the status of
    the response to their open records requests, this office understands records related to the ongoing lease addendum
    negotiations
    and records related to ongoing projects are not being requested. Additionally, certain floor plans to the south
    Bismarck building and other information containing security system plans, security plans, protection of electronic
    information and computer systems,
    and cybersecurity information have been withheld or redacted pursuant to N.D.C.C.
    §§ 44-04-24, 44-04-25, 44-04-26, and 44-04-27. Also, the name of an employee has been redacted in some emails
    containing a reference to an illness pursuant to N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18.32.

    You might also like