by Matt Kelley
Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge should hold new contempt hearings against
government officials in a case involving mismanagement of billions of
dollars of American Indians’ money, a court-appointed investigator
recommended Wednesday.
The judge should decide whether current and former Interior Department
officials improperly punished a worker who alleged improper handling of
records involved in the case, investigator Alan Balaran recommended.
Justice Department lawyer Phillip Brooks, who handles the case for the
government, declined comment Wednesday.
If U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth agrees to hold a contempt trial, it
would be the second in the nearly five-year-old lawsuit, brought on behalf
of more than 300,000 Indians with trust accounts managed by the Department
of Interior. The accounts hold proceeds from oil drilling, timber cutting,
grazing and other uses of the Indians’ land.
Lamberth held former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and former Treasury
Secretary Robert Rubin in contempt of court and fined them more than
$600,000 in 1999 because of problems in turning over documents.
The government admits that the accounts have been mismanaged for more than a
century, with much of the money due the Indians lost, stolen or never
collected. But federal lawyers appealed Lamberth’s 1999 ruling that would
force reforms to the system and require the government to account for how
much money was lost.
The Indians asked for the new contempt sanctions last year, claiming
Interior officials retaliated against a Bureau of Indian Affairs employee
who gave sworn testimony in the case. Government lawyers contend there was
no retaliation.
Lamberth has not indicated when he will decide whether to hold another
contempt trial.
On the Net:
Indian account holders: http://www.indiantrust.com
Justice Department: http://www.usdoj.gov
for more information: click here
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