608: 'That is a blatant falsehood’ (REPLAY)

At the beginning of this episode of Plain Talk, Attorney General Drew Wrigley took exception to my recent reporting suggesting that he and Gov. Kelly Armstrong are at odds over sentencing legislation and the performance of state prison officials.

Based on what would follow, I think the conflict between two of North Dakota's top elected officials is positively overt.

According to Wrigley, the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, headed by director Colby Braun, is lying to state lawmakers and the public.

He took particular issue with a recent fiscal note issued by the DOCR indicating that so-called "truth in sentencing" legislation he supports, which would mean that inmates serve a larger percentage of their sentences, will cost taxpayers as much as $269 million.

"Their quest is to make it extraordinarily expensive to turn people away from the bill," he said.

"That is a blatant falsehood," a stormy Wrigley told guest-cost Erin Oban and I.

"It is not worth the paper it's written on," he continued about the fiscal note.

"It would be a joke if it weren't a matter of serious policy debate," he said.

Wrigley also said that DOCR officials have been hiding data from the public and lawmakers, and making misleading statements about rising crime rates. "What an absolute abdication of responsibility," concluded.

These are serious accusations -- lying, abdication of responsibility, etc. -- but Braun isn't an independent operator. He has a boss. That's Armstrong, who was also scheduled to appear on this episode to discuss the progress of property tax reform, which he has made his primary focus during this legislative session. 

I asked Wrigley if he felt Braun should be fired, and he demured, saying it wasn't his place to advise the governor on personnel issues.

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