by Robert Gehrke
Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Interior Secretary Gale Norton should be held in contempt for not complying with a court order meant to protect whistle-blowers, an investigator says. In February, court-appointed investigator Alan Balaran ordered the Interior Department to notify employees that they could contact him directly and anonymously with concerns about government efforts to fix a trust fund that squandered royalties from American Indian lands. But Interior was slow to notify employees they would be protected from reprisal and issued memos undermining the open dialogue, Balaran said. “Senior management neglected to marshal its resources, impose its authority and demand the results needed” to comply with the order, Balaran wrote in his opinion, submitted to U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth late Friday.
A class-action lawsuit filed in 1996 on behalf of 300,000 American Indians claims the government mismanaged at least $10 billion from the trust accounts. The fund was established in 1887 to manage royalties from grazing, logging, mining and oil drilling on Indian lands. The government admits that the accounts were mismanaged, with much of the money due the Indians lost, stolen or never collected. Lamberth ordered Interior to piece together how much the Indian account holders are owed and appointed Balaran as special master to keep the court apprised of the progress of trust reform. Interior spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna said the department has never retaliated against employees and has worked to comply with Balaran’s orders.
“We’ve encouraged employees to speak with the special master, and if employees are not comfortable speaking with the special master, we’ve provided other avenues … where they can address their concerns,” she said. Plaintiffs’ attorney Dennis Gingold said Balaran’s protest shows that reform efforts are faring no better under Norton than they did under her predecessor, Bruce Babbitt.
“Many people in the Department of Interior are doing whatever they can to undermine and obstruct” trust reform, said Gingold. “It’s a violation of the law, it’s a violation of court orders and it has to stop.” In February, Balaran recommended Babbitt and others be held in contempt for retaliating against an employee. Lamberth has not ruled on that motion.
Other pending contempt motions have alleged that Interior allowed documents in the case to be destroyed and misrepresented the department’s progress in trust reform.
In 1999, Lamberth held Babbitt and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in contempt and fined them more than $600,000 for failing to turn over documents related to the case.
At a hearing in April, Lamberth said he was willing to take the same steps if the government doesn’t cooperate with the court. “I don’t want it to come to that again, but I am prepared to do what is necessary to get trust reform accomplished,” said Lamberth.
for more information: click here
|
