Drew Howard Wrigley (born October 10, 1965) is an American attorney, lawyer, and politician from North Dakota. Wrigley currently serves as the attorney general of North Dakota. He declared his candidacy for the office in early January 2022. Weeks later, then-incumbent Wayne Stenehjem died unexpectedly, and Governor Doug Burgum appointed Wrigley to serve the final year of that term. Wrigley was elected to a four-year term in November 2022, garnering 71% of the vote. Wrigley previously served as the United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota from 2001 to 2009 and again from 2019 to 2021, appointed by President George W. Bush and Donald Trump, respectively.[1] Between his terms as United States attorney, Wrigley served as the 37th lieutenant governor of North Dakota from 2010 to 2016.
Drew Wrigley | |
|---|---|
| 30th Attorney General of North Dakota | |
| Assumed office February 8, 2022 | |
| Governor | Doug Burgum |
| Preceded by | Wayne Stenehjem |
| United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota | |
| In office April 17, 2019 – February 28, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Tim Purdon |
| Succeeded by | Mac Schneider |
| In office November 6, 2001 – September 11, 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | John Schneider |
| Succeeded by | Tim Purdon |
| 37th Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota | |
| In office December 7, 2010 – December 15, 2016 | |
| Governor | Jack Dalrymple |
| Preceded by | Jack Dalrymple |
| Succeeded by | Brent Sanford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Drew Howard Wrigley October 10, 1965 Bismarck, North Dakota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kathleen |
| Education | University of North Dakota (BA) American University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Wrigley was the deputy chief of staff to then-Governor John Hoeven prior to serving in elected office.[2] He has held a variety of roles in U.S. District Attorneys offices.
Education and early career
editA native of Bismarck, North Dakota, Wrigley grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, where he graduated from Fargo South High School. He is a fourth-generation North Dakotan, with roots in Burke County and Walsh County.[3] Wrigley is an honors graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a minor in philosophy. Wrigley was an active member of Phi Delta Theta during college. He completed his Juris Doctor at the Washington College of Law of American University in Washington, D.C., where he was active in student government, mentoring programs, and he interned for U.S. Senator Bob Dole.
Career
editAfter law school, Wrigley served as a judicial law clerk in Delaware, after which he became an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, serving in that capacity for five years before returning to North Dakota.[2]
U.S. Attorney
editIn 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Wrigley to be the United States District Attorney for North Dakota. In this capacity, he was responsible for prosecuting all federal crimes committed in the state.
Wrigley's most notable case was the Dru Sjodin kidnapping and murder. Capital punishment was abolished in the state of North Dakota in 1973, but because the crime involved crossing state lines, the trial fell under jurisdiction of the federal government, leaving the decision about whether or not to seek the death penalty up to Wrigley, who chose to request the death penalty.[citation needed] He successfully prosecuted Alfonso Rodriguez, a repeat sex offender from Crookston, Minnesota, for the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sjodin (he was sentenced to death on September 22, 2006).[citation needed]
A February 9, 2007, article in the New York Times stated that according to a transcript of the court proceedings, Judge Ralph R. Erickson, who imposed the sentence, said "This is the first time since 1914 that any judge has been confronted with a death penalty sentence in North Dakota or Minnesota...Mr. Rodriguez's senseless and horrendous" act forced an uncomfortable discussion of capital punishment to the forefront. In addition to personally leading the trial team in the trial that lead to Rodriguez's death sentence, Wrigley successfully argued the case before the Eighth Circuit Court Of Appeals, which upheld, 2 to 1, Rodriguez's conviction and death sentence.[citation needed]
On August 16, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Wrigley to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota.[4] On August 27, 2018, his nomination was sent to the United States Senate.[5] His nomination was not acted upon during the 115th United States Congress. He was renominated in February 2019.[6] On February 28, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[7] On April 11, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by voice vote by the full Senate.[8] On April 17, 2019, he was sworn into office as the United States Attorney for a second time.[9]
On February 8, 2021, he was asked to resign to reopen the position for nomination, as is routine during a presidential transition.[10][11] On February 23, 2021, Wrigley announced his resignation, effective February 28, 2021.[12]
Lieutenant governor
editOn November 4, 2010, then-Lieutenant Governor Jack Dalrymple designated Wrigley as his successor once his transition of the governor's office was completed (then-Governor John Hoeven had just been elected to the U.S. Senate).[2] Wrigley was sworn into office on December 7, 2010, following the swearing in of Governor Dalrymple. Dalrymple and Wrigley were elected to full terms in November 2012.
Wrigley's responsibilities as lieutenant governor include presiding over the state senate, overseeing legislative relations, formulating the state budget, and agri-business development.
Wrigley considered running in the 2016 North Dakota gubernatorial election, but ultimately decided not to run.
Attorney general of North Dakota
editOn February 8, 2022, Governor Doug Burgum appointed Wrigley as North Dakota Attorney General following the death of former Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.[13] Wrigley had announced on December 30, 2021, that he would run for a full term in the 2022 election.[14][15] Wrigley won a full term in the November general election.
Wrigley was put into the public eye in the aftermath of the 2023 shooting of Fargo police officers in which he released the bodycam footage from Officer Zach Robinson of the shooting, information on the perpetrator, and further information on the investigations incredibly early into the case. He received praise for his swift work with the case. [16][17][18][19]
Later in the year, Wrigley reported that the state crime lab had completed the backlog of sexual assault examination kits in October. [20][21] In the aftermath of the indictment of Ray Holmberg, Wrigley shared information that involved his predecessor, Wayne Stenehjem, not “saving himself” from the case. [22]
Personal life
editWrigley lives in Bismarck with his wife, Kathleen, and their three children.[23]
References
edit- ^ "PN1087 — Drew Howard Wrigley — Department of Justice". Congress.gov. 6 November 2001. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ a b c "Dalrymple names Drew Wrigley as next lieutenant governor". The Bismarck Tribune. November 4, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
- ^ "Dalrymple to name Wrigley Lieutenant Governor". November 4, 2010. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Seventeenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees and Twelfth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees – The White House". Trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
- ^ "Nine Nominations Sent to the Senate Today – The White House". Trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
- ^ "Trump re-nominates Wrigley to serve as U.S. attorney for North Dakota". Grand Forks Herald. February 12, 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 28, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF). Judiciary.senate.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ "PN392 - Nomination of Drew H. Wrigley for Department of Justice, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". Congress.gov. 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- ^ "Drew H. Wrigley Sworn in as United States Attorney". Justice.gov. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
- ^ Balsamofebruary, Michael (28 April 2021) [December 31, 2021]. "Justice Dept. seeks resignations of Trump-era US attorneys". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "Justice Dept. To Transition U.S. Attorneys, Sparing 2 Involved In Political Probes". Npr.org. 8 February 2021 [December 31, 2021]. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "United States Attorney Resignation Announcement" (Press release). Bismarck, North Dakota: United States Attorney's Office. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Burgum appoints Drew Wrigley as North Dakota attorney general". InForum. February 8, 2022.
- ^ "Drew Wrigley to run for North Dakota attorney general". Inforum.com. 30 December 2021.
- ^ "Drew Wrigley Announces Bid for North Dakota Attorney General". Usnews.com. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ "Man who ambushed Fargo officers likely had bigger and bloodier attack in mind, attorney general says". AP News. 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ "Videos show how the Fargo shooter targeted officers, North Dakota attorney general says". AP News. 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ Kraft, Bella (2023-07-21). "Background information on Fargo shooter made available in Friday news conference". Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ Redmond, Jourden (2023-07-20). "Attorney General Drew Wrigley set to release more information about deadly shooting in news conference on Friday". Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ Forum, APRIL BAUMGARTEN The (2023-10-09). "How North Dakota eliminated a testing backlog for hundreds of sexual assault exam kits". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ "State Lab 'caught up' with processing rape kits and other evidence". Prairie Public Broadcasting. 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ "Plain Talk: Attorney General Wrigley says predecessor didn't recuse himself from Holmberg investigation". InForum. 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ "Drew Wrigley". Bismarck Tribune. November 4, 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2020.