by Bill McAllister
Denver Post Washington Bureau Chief
The Denver Post
WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary Gale Norton appears to be closer to being cited for contempt in a massive lawsuit a Colorado organization filed against her department five years ago. A special master who is overseeing the dispute has recommended to a federal judge that Norton’s department be held in contempt, saying it “has fallen far short of the requisite diligence and good faith necessary” to comply with his orders to protect whistle-blowers. Since Norton is named as the principal defendant in the suit, lawyers say it is likely a contempt proceeding would involve her.
Special Master Alan Balaran told U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth that Interior officials were slow to advise their employees that they could talk to lawyers in the dispute without fear of reprisals. “Senior management neglected to marshal its resources, impose its authority and demand the results needed from its subordinates,” Balaran told the court in an order filed Friday.
Lamberth has not indicated when he might act on the request. But last week he rejected a request by Treasury Department lawyers to be freed of a requirement that they continue to make biweekly reports to his court. That ruling and the Balaran opinion indicate that Bush administration officials are getting the same, stern treatment that Lamberth gave their predecessors in the Clinton administration. He held both Bruce Babbitt, Norton’s predecessor at Interior, and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in contempt over the handling of documents in the case.
At issue in the lawsuit are more than 300,000 trust accounts that the Interior has held for American Indians. The Native American Rights Fund of Boulder filed the action in 1996, demanding that the government provide a full accounting of funds owed the Indians.
Lamberth has ruled that the government breached its trust agreement, but has yet to decide how much the Indians are owed by the government. Lawyers for the Indians say that upwards of $10 billion is at stake. Interior spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna said the department has never retaliated against any employee who wished to talk with the special master. “We’ve encouraged employees to speak with the special master and if the employees are not comfortable with speaking with the special master, we’ve provided other avenues,” she said.
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