Editorial: Abramoff scandal just won't go away

Tuesday, March 27, 2007  

"Former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles' guilty plea to obstruction of justice last week marked another disgraceful chapter in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal.

It also served as a reminder of how poorly the Interior Department and thus the West have been served during the Bush administration's six years in office.

Griles became the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in connection with Abramoff - a still-unraveling scandal that has tentacles all over Washington.

The former No. 2 at Interior, previously a coal-industry lobbyist, pleaded guilty to lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with Abramoff, the disgraced former lobbyist now serving time for fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion.

Griles told the Senate panel that his relationship with Abramoff was the same as any other lobbyist. But Griles' girlfriend at the time, a lobbyist named Italia Federici, had actually introduced the two. She then acted as a go-between as Abramoff gained direct access to Griles.

Abramoff used his relationship with Griles to convince his Indian casino clients that he had special ties to the department and then influenced them to pay $500,000 to an advocacy group originally co-founded by Federici and Interior Secretary Gale Norton before Norton joined the Cabinet."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Abramoff scandal just won't go away (The Denver Post 3/27)

Relevant Documents:
DOJ Press Release | Charge of Information | Plea Agreement | Statement of Facts | Earl Devaney Statement

November 2, 2005, Hearing:
Transcript | Webcast | Testimony

Cobell Declarations:
November 15, 2001 | June 4, 2002

Inspector General Report:
J. Steven Griles Investigation (March 2004)

From the Indianz.Com Archive:
Norton stripping BIA of trust duties (November 16, 2001) | Tribal leaders in uproar over proposal (November 16, 2001) | Griles taking lead on trust reform (November 5, 2001)

Indianz.Com Profile:
Deputy Secretary: J. Steven Griles (3/9)

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