Legislative Auditor steps up Secretary of State probe

The legislative auditor said Monday that he plans to formally investigate Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's mixing of official and political business, a move that could deepen the controversy surrounding the state's chief elections officer.

Legislative Auditor James Nobles told the Legislative Audit Commission that he will interview Ritchie and his staff under oath after initially receiving what he called "unreliable" information from the office.

The information concerned how a contact list generated through a public education program ended up being used by Ritchie's campaign to solicit political contributions.

The unusual step of requiring sworn testimony reflects concern about a lack of candor.

"If [Ritchie] was not forthcoming, that is a serious matter in and of itself," Nobles said.

Nobles also said: "If we cannot confirm the veracity of the statements from him and others in his office, we'll have to take other measures to determine what went on."

He said his office will continue working on other investigations but will proceed quickly into the Ritchie probe.

Ritchie's spokesman John Aiken said in response: "The office of secretary of state takes this matter very seriously and we welcome the extra attention that's being given to this matter by the legislative auditor and we look forward to receiving their conclusions and implementing any recommendations."

The legislative auditor was asked last month to investigate allegations that Ritchie, whose primary duties include safeguarding the integrity and fairness of Minnesota elections, used an office mailing list to solicit contributions through his campaign newsletter. Ritchie at first said he did not know how his campaign obtained the list.

In a Nov. 9 letter to Nobles' office, Ritchie's legal adviser, Bert Black, said the mailing list was public information and widely distributed, including at the State Fair, and it was his understanding that this was how the directory was obtained by the Ritchie campaign.

Last week, Ritchie acknowledged to the Star Tribune that he personally transferred the contact information from the secretary of state's office to his campaign organization and asked that groups and individuals on the list be sent a campaign newsletter. In an e-mail to Nobles later the same day, Ritchie made the same acknowledgment.

In a letter Monday to the Legislative Audit Commission, Nobles said the admission changed the scope of his investigation.

"Mr. Ritchie's belated acknowledgment of personal involvement renders the information I received from his office on November 9 unreliable," the letter said. "Therefore, I have informed Mr. Ritchie that I intend to conduct an investigation into the allegation concerning the Secretary of State's office by interviewing Mr. Ritchie and his staff under oath."

Nobles said the investigation could take several weeks. Requiring sworn testimony is unusual for the office, which conducts audits and evaluation reports of various departments in state government under the auspices of the bipartisan Legislative Audit Commission, which is made up of six members of the House and six members of the Senate.

The office also conducts special reviews into alleged misuse of state money or resources and alleged violations of the state code of conduct for employees in the executive branch of state government.

Any findings by the legislative auditor could be used to craft laws or statutes for reform, but they do not have the weight of a criminal investigation.

Mark Brunswick • 651-222-1636

Mark Brunswick • mbrunswick@startribune.com