Doug Burgum Calendar Records Expose Clear Ethics Violation
Interior Secretary Burgum Calendars Show Two Meetings With North Dakota Officials He’s Recused From
HELENA, MT – Upon taking over the Interior Department, Doug Burgum signed an ethics agreement promising to recuse himself from North Dakota business for one year. New investigative reporting by Public Domain shows he broke that promise just months after his confirmation. The new findings raise serious questions about Secretary Burgum violating ethics laws and demand an independent investigation.
“Doug Burgum signed an ethics agreement promising the American people he’d work on behalf of them, not his old political pals and special interests back in North Dakota. He’s broken that promise, and violated his ethics agreement in the process,” said Jayson O’Neill, spokesperson for Save Our Parks. “Why did Burgum run other meetings through ethics review, but not these two, when he knew he was recused? The public needs answers to what has become a pattern of secrecy, backroom deals, and corruption by Doug Burgum and his cronies at the expense of our parks and public lands."
The limited calendars released by DOI show that Burgum met in his capacity as Interior Secretary with North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, despite a signed ethics agreement barring him from participating in matters involving the state. Under a “covered relationship,” Burgum is required to recuse himself and/or seek consultation with an ethics official to ensure no “particular matters” are discussed. Several other meetings on Burgum’s calendar indicated ethics officials had cleared them, but neither of the meetings with North Dakota officials appears to have been. Burgum’s Chief of Staff attended both meetings, suggesting official business took place.
Burgum met with North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley in his office on July 28, 2025. Burgum’s chief of staff attended. [Interior Department Secretary Calendar Release production 1, p. 991)
Burgum met with North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture Doug Goehring in his office on May 12, 2025. Burgum’s chief of staff attended. [Interior Department Secretary Calendar Release production 1, p. 918)
North Dakota has sued Interior repeatedly, and Attorney General Wrigley backed a frivolous Utah lawsuit seeking to strip protections from millions of acres of public land. Burgum’s meeting with Wrigley occurred in the middle of ongoing settlement talks between the state and the U.S. Justice Department over Dakota Access Pipeline protest costs. Shortly after Interior finally released limited calendar details from Burgum this June, they were removed from the department’s website until recently, after ethics questions emerged.
Burgum has a history of flaunting ethics and transparency requirements, a hallmark of his tenure since being confirmed as Interior Secretary. He cut a backroom deal with North Dakota fracking billionaire Harold Hamm, spearheaded Trump’s fraudulent Freedom 250 pay-to-play scheme, and oversaw the largest rollback of public land protections in U.S. history based on falsehoods, among others. Save Our Parks is calling for a full independent review of Secretary Burgum’s compliance with his ethics agreement and the circumstances surrounding the removal of his limited calendar records that had been made public.
To speak with Save Our Parks spokesperson Jayson O’Neill, email jayson@focalpointstrategygroup.com.