Key figure in deleted emails case dies

Chief Deputy Attorney General Troy Seibel responds to questions from lawmakers on Feb. 8, 2021, during a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee. (Photo by Tom Stromme/Bismarck Tribune)

A former state official who authorized the deletion of the late North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s email account has died.

Current Attorney General Drew Wrigley told the North Dakota Monitor on Tuesday that he had been informed of Troy Seibel’s death, but said he did not have additional information.

Seibel was serving as Stenehjem’s chief deputy attorney general when Stenehjem died in office in January 2022 . Seibel resigned from the position two months later, after Wrigley had been appointed attorney general.

Seibel was later named in an investigation that looked into the deletion of Stenehjem’s emails as well as cost overruns for remodeling a building leased by the AG’s office.

Liz Brocker, former executive assistant for the attorney general’s office, has said Seibel directed her to have information technology staff to wipe Stenehjem’s state email account immediately after his death.

Brocker also had Seibel’s emails deleted after his resignation in March 2022. The deletion of the emails was discovered after media open records requests connected to the building project.

Seibel was a point of contact on the construction project, which aimed to move several divisions into one building. Seibel told The Bismarck Tribune in March 2022 there was nothing improper with the construction project, and he attributed the cost overruns to unforeseen material costs due to supply shortages.

Wrigley has said the deletion of the emails was done without his knowledge. He said Tuesday he had not had contact with Seibel since early 2022.

A Montana investigator said his probe into the building project and deletion of Stenehjem’s and Seibel’s emails was hampered by a lack of subpoena authority. The investigation led to no charges .

An ethics complaint related to the building lease led to the misdemeanor conviction of state Rep. Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck, for a conflict of interest-related crime.

Lawmakers voice frustrations as questions linger on deleted emails, building lease

Some copies of Stenehjem’s emails were eventually discovered during the federal investigation into former state Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks. Holmberg, who resigned his legislative seat, pleaded guilty last month to a federal child sex tourism charge.

Prosecutors sought a search warrant for Stenehjem’s cellphone data because Holmberg called and left a voicemail for Stenehjem , a former Grand Forks legislator, after federal investigators searched Holmberg’s home.

Stenehjem emails that have been publicly released so far provided little insight into the building lease or Holmberg case. Wrigley has said additional emails will be made public following the conclusion of the Holmberg case.

Before becoming chief deputy attorney general, Seibel served as commissioner of labor and human rights under Gov. Jack Dalrymple.

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