It is with a heavy heart, and frankly an overburdened conscience, that I write these words, but the essence of the matter is that, effective immediately, I am resigning as Minister for Magic. My staff have, in the vast majority of cases, acquitted themselves with honour in tasks that none who have not served here can truly comprehend, but I am forced to make public the fact that, unbeknownst at the time to any of the rest of us, a certain faction performed unsanctioned and illegal 'tests' on their fellow wand wielders, including Unforgiveables. As the Muggle American President Harry Truman had written on his desk, 'The buck stops here', and I trust that with my stepping down a new Ministry will be given the clean slate it deserves on this and all fronts. I have personal apologies to make to a number of individuals caught up in this short-lived but devastating moral maelstrom, and I hope that I have not forfeited the right to ask that those who question the need for a government of any kind will not make an issue for my successor from my errors.
The country and the Ministry both will benefit from a fresh start, and I hope my explanations will be at least a little comfort to those most directly impacted. For the wizarding world at large I can only say that there are, of necessity, times when personal inclination, and even moral code, must bow to the needs of the moment, and my misjudgments, I can only hope, may make more sense in the longer lens of history. I would like to thank all those who trusted or turned to me as Minister, and wish my successor good fortune and better discernment than I have shown.
Sincerely,
Draco Rookwood