Turnover under Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador continues. High-ranking officials resign
Three high-level staff members are resigning from their roles under Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, whose first term has been marked by significant turnover.
Solicitor General Theo Wold and Chief of Staff Tim Frost are the latest to resign, according to an email obtained by the Idaho Statesman. Lincoln Davis Wilson, chief of Labrador’s Civil and Constitutional Defense Division, also is resigning, Wilson told the Statesman.
“Tim and Theo have been invaluable members of this office, and while we are saddened to see them go, we are grateful for their contributions during their time here and are excited for their future,” Labrador wrote in the Thursday email.
Labrador’s spokesperson did not respond to a request seeking comment on the resignations.
Wold, once a Justice Department attorney under former President Donald Trump, served 10 months as Idaho’s solicitor general, a position that Labrador reinstated after the state went several decades without one. Wold’s role was to litigate the state’s legal and political interests in federal court.
Wold, whose last day in the attorney general’s office is Friday, will train as a commissioned intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, according to Labrador’s email. Wold’s grandfather survived Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and fought in the Pacific during World War II, Labrador wrote.
“His grandfather’s lifelong example greatly influenced Theo in deciding to serve,” he wrote.
Deputy Solicitor General Josh Turner will serve as interim solicitor general, Labrador said in the email.
Frost, Labrador’s chief of staff since May, previously served as deputy administrator for the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses and as a regulatory adviser for CVS Health, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Labrador said in the email that Frost’s last day will be Oct. 14, but he did not specify why Frost is leaving. Labrador, however, announced a new chief of staff: Phil Skinner, a lead deputy attorney general assigned to the Idaho State Tax Commission.
Wilson in recent months has represented the attorney general’s office in high-profile legal battles, including over the state’s abortion ban, ballot language for an initiative to overhaul primary elections and Labrador’s investigation into the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s administration of federal child care grants.
Wilson previously worked for “highly respected” and “top-ranked” private law firms, according to a February news release announcing his hiring. Wilson confirmed his resignation from the attorney general’s office by text message but declined to comment further.
The Statesman previously reported that in Labrador’s first five months in office, 33 employees — 26 of them attorneys — departed the attorney general’s office, and more have left since. In fiscal year 2022, under former Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, 34 employees departed over 12 months.
Earlier this year, former Chief Deputy Attorney General David Dewhirst left for a position with presidential candidate and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Some lower-ranking attorneys have bitterly resigned, or been fired, from the office following disagreements about how Labrador has managed it. One former deputy attorney general last month sued the office. Her wrongful termination complaint said she was fired for speaking out about alleged legal and ethical breaches by Labrador and his aides.
This story was originally published October 6, 2023 at 1:00 PM.
