Former North Dakota attorney general didn’t recuse himself from Ray Holmberg case, successor says – InForum

BISMARCK — A former North Dakota attorney general did not recuse himself from

a child sexual abuse investigation

into his “very close personal friend,”

Sen. Ray Holmberg,

the state’s top law enforcement official said.

Wayne Stenehjem remained involved in the investigation into allegations that Holmberg, a Republican from Grand Forks, traveled internationally to have sex with a minor, North Dakota attorney General Drew Wrigley told The Forum on Friday, Nov. 3.

Stenehjem was a Republican who served as the state’s attorney general from 2000 until his death in late January 2022.

Upon being briefed about the investigation, Wrigley, also a Republican, said he assumed Stenehjem recused himself from the case.

“I said, ‘So, Wayne’s recused?’ I was told no,” he said.

Holmberg, 79, appeared Monday in North Dakota U.S. District Court on federal charges. He has pleaded not guilty to traveling to Prague “for the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct” with a person under the age of 18, as well as receiving or attempting to receive child porn.

Prosecutors alleged Holmberg traveled to Prague multiple times between June 24, 2011, and Nov. 1, 2016, with intent to have sex with a child. The dates for the child porn allegations are Nov. 24, 2012, to March 4, 2013.

Rob Port, a Forum columnist and owner of Say Anything Blog,

first reported Wrigley’s comments about Stenehjem’s decision not to recuse himself from the Holmberg case.

It’s unclear why Stenehjem didn’t recuse himself. An attorney general has to determine for themselves whether they should not be involved in a case, Wrigley said.

That is typically done if there is the appearance of or an actual conflict of interest, Wrigley added.

“You don’t want to have any question about how you are operating,” he said.

Wrigley said he assumed Stenehjem recused himself from the case “because of his very close personal friendship” and “his very close professional working relationship” with Holmberg.

Holmberg’s and Stenehjem’s relationship was “widely recognized for decades,” Wrigley said.

North Dakota U.S. attorney Mac Schneider, a Democrat who represented Grand Forks in the North Dakota Senate from 2009 to 2016, and U.S. District Judge Peter Welte, who was the Grand Forks County state’s attorney from 2003 to 2015, recused themselves in the federal case against Holmberg.

Former North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg leaves the Quentin N. Burdick Federal Courthouse on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in downtown Fargo.

David Samson / The Forum

Emails from the attorney General’s Office show some of Stenehjem’s involvement in a case regarding a man with ties to Holmberg. In an Aug. 25, 2020, email, Consumer Protection Director Parrell Grossman asked Stenehjem for Holmberg’s cellphone number.

“A Grand Forks police officer needs to contact him (Holmberg) regarding a joint case we are working on,” Grossman said. “You might recall — Nick DeRosier-Team Lawn.”

“I can ask him,” Stenehjem replied.

The Forum has published stories that showed connections between Holmberg and Nicholas Morgan-Derosier. The Consumer Protection Division, which is a part of the attorney General’s Office, was investigating Morgan-Derosier for construction and check fraud when law enforcement discovered he had child porn on his laptop, according to federal prosecutors.

The laptop was recovered as part of a Sept. 15, 2020, search of Morgan-Derosier’s home for the construction fraud investigation.

Holmberg also gave Morgan-Derosier a ride

from Grand Forks to Bismarck so the Consumer Protection Division could interview Morgan-Derosier on Oct. 6, 2020, about the construction fraud case, according to transcripts of the meeting.

In a June 24, 2021, email, Grossman told Stenehjem that a judge had signed an order barring Morgan-Derosier from doing construction business as Team Lawn and Landscaping or Vaughn Construction.

“Good work,” Stenehjem replied. “Let’s hope this brings this matter to a conclusion.”

Grossman’s emails were obtained through an open records request that asked for any documents the attorney General’s Office may have that showed Stenehjem knew about Holmberg’s connection to Morgan-Derosier.

Stenehjem’s emails were deleted

at the direction of his assistant, Liz Brocker, shortly after he died.

Holmberg and Morgan-Derosier

The Forum reported in April 2022 that Morgan-Derosier and Holmberg

exchanged 72 text messages

while Morgan-Derosier was in Grand Forks County Jail on Aug. 23 and 24, 2021. Morgan-Derosier was at that time charged with possessing child porn in Grand Forks District Court.

Nicholas Morgan-Derosier

Contributed / Grand Forks County Jail

Those charges were dismissed so federal prosecutors could take over the case.

Holmberg told The Forum those messages were about patio work Morgan-Derosier did for the then-senator.

A federal prosecutor said during Morgan-Derosier’s detention hearing in January 2022 that a “77-year-old man from Grand Forks” asked or told Morgan-Derosier in one of the messages sent Aug. 23, 2021, that “he wants him to bring (Morgan-Derosier’s boyfriend) over to his house to give him a massage,” according to transcripts of the hearing.

The prosecutor didn’t name the 77-year-old, but Holmberg would have been that age when the messages were sent. Jail phone records obtained by The Forum showed Holmberg’s phone number on the list of Morgan-Derosier’s contacts.

Shortly after that story,

Holmberg announced he would resign as a state senator

on June 1, 2022. At the time, he was the longest-serving state senator in the country.

Morgan-Derosier

pleaded guilty

on Sept. 29 in North Dakota U.S. District Court to six counts of possessing child porn and one charge of receipt and distribution of child porn. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Drew Wrigley talks Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in Fargo about his plans to run for North Dakota attorney general.

Michael Vosburg / The Forum

In a news release issued shortly after Holmberg’s indictment, Wrigley said he was briefed on the investigation within hours of taking office as the North Dakota attorney general on Feb. 9, 2022. Gov. Doug Burgum appointed Wrigley as Stenehjem’s successor.

Wrigley told the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which he supervises, to “move this case to priority status,” the release said.

“I had reasons that were immediately obvious to me that it needed to be elevated to a high priority,” Wrigley told The Forum. “Within a few days, they had made the beginnings of substantial progress.”

When asked if Stenehjem didn’t make the case a priority, Wrigley said no one in the BCI said anything like that. Wrigley said he wasn’t criticizing his agents, as they were handling the case under normal protocol when Stenehjem was in office.

“As the leader of the office … it’s your responsibility to identify and elevate matters that require that for substantive reasons,” he said.

The Forum published a story in May 2022 that noted law enforcement

searched Holmberg’s home

in November 2021. A BCI agent plans to testify in federal court about devices seized from Holmberg’s house, including a laptop labeled “property of the Legislative Assembly,” according to documents filed Friday in federal court.

The agent will testify that “the number of child pornography images recovered on the defendant’s devices indicate an intention to possess such material,” the documents said.

Legislative Council has confirmed federal agents seized Holmberg’s

state-issued laptop.

Wrigley said Stenehjem’s office had been working on the investigation for “many months” before the warrant was served.

The attorney general declined to comment on whether Stenehjem not recusing himself compromised the case. Wrigley noted the U.S. attorney’s Office in North Dakota has enough evidence to proceed with the case.

“They believe themselves to be prepared for that, and I have confidence in them,” Wrigley said.

He applauded BCI agents for their work on the case. Federal efforts have been painstaking and thorough, he said.

The case remains under investigation, Wrigley said, adding he believes more witnesses could come forward.

He asked that anyone with information regarding the case call the BCI at

701-328-5500

or Homeland Security at

866-347-2423.

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