Republican North Dakota state Rep. Jason Dockter chairs a legislative meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)
Dockter's charge is part of a nearly two-year-old controversy involving the building, leased by the late Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem for consolidating divisions of his office, that under Stenehjem incurred a cost overrun of over $1 million that hasn't been fully reconciled.
Stenehjem's successor, Attorney General Drew Wrigley, disclosed the overrun and that Stenehjem's state email account was deleted days after his death in January 2022 at the direction of his executive assistant, Liz Brocker, who later resigned. A prosecutor declined to bring charges for the deleted emails.
Dockter is a co-owner of companies that own and worked on the building. He was friends with Stenehjem, but has denied any wrongdoing in the lease arrangement. Dockter was first elected in 2012. He was reelected in 2022 without opposition.
Democratic House Minority Leader Zac Ista called on Dockter to resign after the verdict. Dockter said he has no immediate plans to do so. Lefor said he doesn't expect the Republican-majority House to take any immediate steps against Dockter.
The Legislature is not in session, and isn't scheduled to convene until January 2025, after a December organizational session.
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The cost overrun and deleted emails shocked state lawmakers, who raised concerns about trust and transparency. Earlier this year, Wrigley's office recovered thousands of Stenehjem's emails through a cellphone backup and released them in response to records requests. Stenehjem's phone data became part of an investigation into former state senator Ray Holmberg, who is accused of traveling to Europe with the intent of paying for sex with a minor. Holmberg's trial is set for September.
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