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While Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier, a gardener accused of possessing child pornography, was imprisoned in North Dakota in August 2021, he was sending messages to people outside. Among them: one of the most influential senators in the North Dakota legislature, according to archival records obtained from the Fargo-Moorhead News Forum.
All said, Senator Ray Holmberg (right) and Morgan-Derosier exchanged 72 text messages, while Morgan-Derosier was detained on charges of child pornography, the Forum said – although it remains unclear what exactly they said.
Now Holmberg, the longest-serving senator in the state, who was first elected more than four decades ago, has announced his resignation.
“The latest news has dispelled the important work of the legislature during its interim sessions,” Holmberg told The Washington Post. “I want to do what I can to reduce such distractions.”
He said he would retire on June 1st.
Holmberg declined to comment further. His lawyer, Mark Friese, did not respond to a request for comment. Frieze told the Associated Press that Holmberg has not been charged with any crimes and does not expect to be.
Since he was first elected in 1976, Holmberg has become one of the most powerful lawmakers in North Dakota, chairing several high-level committees, the forum said. In March, Holmberg announced that he would retire after his term ended in November, citing unspecified “medical problems” that “prevent my cognitive ability from doing exactly the work required and expected of a senator representing Grand Forks in East North Dakota.
About a month later, the Forum announced that on August 23, 2021, Holmberg and Morgan-Derosier had exchanged 65 text messages in about two hours, as Morgan-Derosier was in prison facing 10 charges of child pornography. . The next night, the men exchanged seven more messages. The forum based the report on prison records obtained through a request for public archives. The records do not contain details about the content of the messages.
Morgan-Derosier is using a prison messaging service to communicate with Holmberg, the forum said.
In response, Holmberg told the news agency that he did not know that Morgan-Derosier was in prison during the text exchange. The senator said he was talking to Morgan-Derosier about “different things,” including the work Morgan-Derosier had been doing in his courtyard for more than a year. The couple have known each other for several years, Holmberg added, and he has invited Morgan-Derosier to his home “several times” for drinks and coffee.
“We’ve never had dinner at restaurants,” Holmberg told the Forum. “But I don’t want to say much more.”
Holmberg told the Forum for the first time that he was aware of the child pornography charges against Morgan-Derosier, which were first filed in state court in March 2021, according to the Grand Forks Herald. Holmberg then denied knowing about the allegations in a subsequent interview with the Forum.
In mid-December, Morgan-Derosier was charged in federal court with child pornography and travel with intent to engage in illegal sexual behavior. In September 2020, investigators claimed to have found thousands of photos and videos of child pornography during a search of Morgan-Derosier’s home. In March 2020, Morgan-Derosier took two Minnesota boys to Grand Forks without their parents’ permission, according to an affidavit.
A lawyer representing Morgan-Derosier did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Tuesday. Charges of state child pornography against Morgan-Derosier have been dropped in a federal lawsuit, the forum said.
Less than a week after the Forum published its report on the exchange of texts, Holmberg resigned as chairman of the Legislative Office, a powerful committee that decides the appointments of senators.
There is now bipartisan support for his resignation.
Without specifying, Republican Gov. Doug Burgham said in a statement that he approved of Holmberg’s withdrawal, the AP reported.
Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner (right) said he had spoken to Holmberg, who said it was in his “best interest” to resign, according to the AP. He added that Holmberg had not been charged with a crime and had been “tried and convicted in the media”, the forum reported.
Pat Hart, chairman of the North Dakota Democratic Non-Party League, called Holmberg’s resignation “the only solution in these circumstances,” the forum said.
“North Dakota needs legislators they can trust to carry out their duties,” Hart said. “This is a sad situation and one that should not hang over our state legislature.”
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