Outside probe says Stenehjem emails are irretrievable

The deleted email accounts of the late former North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and his deputy are irretrievable.

That’s according to an outside evaluation announced by current state Attorney General Drew Wrigley.

Wrigley said, after state information technology experts told his office that the emails could not be recovered, he asked an outside firm, Planet Technologies, to make a final assessment.

That company has concluded that the deletion took place 30 days after the user was unlicensed, therefore, there is no data to be recovered.

In July, it was revealed that former administrative assistant Liz Brocker asked for Stenehjem’s emails to be deleted, following Stenehjem’s death in late January. That move was approved by then-deputy A-G Troy Seibel.

Brocker and Seibel have since resigned.

Several state lawmakers have criticized the deletion of the emails.

Wrigley has said he would be willing to work with the Legislature to draft a universal policy or law governing what happens to e-mails.

The revelation of the deleted emails was made public in July in response to an open records request about a $1.8 million cost overrun on the lease for the attorney general’s office when Stenehjem was in charge.