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FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2001

A lawyer representing the Cobell v. Norton trust fund plaintiffs on Thursday said he will push contempt of court charges against Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and her predecessor Bruce Babbitt.

The calls for contempt come after a court monitor issued a report highly critical of Norton for making inadequate decisions which have unncessarily delayed an historical accounting of the fund owed to an estimated 300,000 American Indians throughout the country.

The report ties Norton's bad decision-making to a year of stall tactics by the Babbitt and his top officials. Despite being ordered to do so, the Clinton administration delayed an accounting because officials believed they would prevail on appeal.

The appeal failed and the ruling came down as Norton promised trust reform was one of her top priorities.

This week in the trust fund debacle:

• Tuesday - Indianz.Com reports Norton has dropped plans to conduct a statistical sampling of Indian trust accounts. Interior tells Indianz.Com that Norton is ready to announce new initiatives, which she does later in the day.
• Wednesday - Indianz.Com reports latest trust software test a failure, causing a delay of up to a year of an expensive accounting system. Cobell plaintiffs lack faith in Norton's new initiatives.
• Thursday - Indianz.Com reports court monitor is critical of Norton and Babbitt. Cobell plaintiffs call for jail time for responsible officials.

Get the Story:
Norton rebuked for delays with Indian trust accounts (The Denver Post 7/13)

Relevant Links:
Office of the Special Trustee - http://www.ost.doi.gov
Trust Management Improvement Project - http://www.doi.gov/bia/trust/tmip.htm
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com

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