Indianz.com
Attorneys for Secretary of Interior Gale Norton on Thursday said the Bush
administration won’t support additional judicial oversight of trust reform
unless their demands are met.
Claiming they never anticipated that a court official’s stinging reports
would be used against the Department of Interior, government attorneys asked
a federal judge to impose stricter controls on the way investigations are
carried out. Otherwise, Norton opposes court monitor Joseph S. Kieffer’s
continued presence, the attorneys said.
“Absent these procedures to ensure fundamental fairness,” the government
wrote of its demands on Kieffer, “the Interior defendants are constrained to
object to his reappointment.”
Appointed nearly a year ago, Kieffer has been a thorn in the Bush
administration’s side since he began investigating the progress of efforts
to fix the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust. A former military
intelligence specialist, he has issued six reports critical of the
department’s fledgling efforts to restore proper management of money held
for the benefit of 300,000 American Indians throughout the country.
Faced with at least another year of his presence, Norton has launched a
pre-emptive strike. In yesterday’s court filing, her attorneys demanded U.S.
District Judge Royce Lamberth limit the scope of Kieffer’s work in order to
prevent him from investigating a broad array of trust reform issues.
And in a move which could hamper his investigations, Norton’s attorneys
asked Kieffer to interview department officials and employees under oath.
Otherwise, they said it would be hard to challenge his conclusions and
findings, a particularly important point since Kieffer’s reports have been
entered as evidence in the Bush administration’s contempt trial because
Norton’s attorneys failed to raise substantial objections to them.
The requests speak to the government’s clashes with another court official
who has wide investigative powers. Both the Clinton and Bush administration
have resisted probes by special master Alan Balaran, whose communications
with department officials, while conducted under oath and with attorneys
present, have been stalled by the government and private counsel whose fees
are in part paid by taxpayers.
If approved, the restrictions would effectively turn Kieffer into another
special master. In the past, Lamberth has rejected calls by the Indian
plaintiffs for just that.
Attorneys for the beneficiaries are supporting Kieffer’s work. Unless he is
reappointed, “Secretary Norton and her counsel will continue to do nothing
and continue to deceive this court,” the wrote in a court filing.
Dennis Gingold, the lead attorney on the case, said in an interview
yesterday that simple oversight is not enough. “[Without Kieffer] the sham
of trust reform would not have been exposed,” he said, “but continuing to
monitor failure without ensuring trust reform will occur isn’t accomplishing
much.”
Gingold said the only way to ensure success is to appoint a receiver to take
over the IIM trust. Lamberth is considering the move and is expected to make
a decision after he rules on Norton’s contempt. Kieffer’s term officially expires April 16.
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