North Dakota Ethics Attorney Calls Out State Attorney General’s Office

Former Special Assistant Attorney General Pat Monson, left. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – An attorney who assisted in an Ethics Commission investigation told lawmakers that she thinks the Attorney General’s Office is pressuring the commission’s staff to resign.

“I believe that what our attorney general is attempting to do is to drive them out,” Pat Monson, who recently retired after 46 years as a trial attorney, said Thursday. “If that happens, it is the state’s loss.”

Monson appeared before the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee to talk about a recent Ethics Commission investigation report related to a building leased by the Attorney General’s Office. The report focused on Rep. Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck, a partial owner of the building who was found in violation of state ethics laws for voting on bills that included funds for the property.

During her testimony, Monson responded to previous allegations by the Attorney General’s Office that the report is riddled with errors.