Deleted emails of late ND attorney general recovered

Deleted emails of North Dakota’s late attorney general have been recovered.  The emails were found in a backup of the late Wayne Stenehjem’s personal cellphone, according to his successor, Drew Wrigley. He says investigators are now reviewing the phone data in connection with the case of a former state lawmaker accused of traveling to Europe with the intent of paying to have sex with a minor. Stenehejm died in January 2022, and his longtime assistant directed the deletion of his state email account the day after he died. His emails were thought to have been erased forever. Stenehjem was not accused of any crime.  Wrigley’s office also is evaluating the emails in response to previous records requests

“This is the functional equivalent of finding it like they downloaded it onto a zip drive and put it in a sock drawer,” Wrigley said.

Picture:  Drew Wrigley