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WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2001

In an opinion piece, Micah Morrison, a senior editorial page writer at The Wall Street Journal, asks if former Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover and Deputy Michael Anderson used their positions to "cash in on Indian gambling?"

A better question might be, who hasn't gained from the burgeoning industry? For even foes of Indian gaming can't claim their coffers and positions haven't been enhanced by the fight over federal recognition.

Nevertheless, Morrison says the fomer officials made questionable decisions while at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and -- in a plug for a gaming and tribal foe -- points out that Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) launched an investigation into the federal recognition process at the BIA.

Morrison also plugs Wolf's bill that would require state legislatures ratify Class III gaming compacts.

In a 1997 column, New York Times writer William Safire said Gover's ties to the Indian gaming industry were suspect. He was unanimously confirmed after a number of Senators said there was nothing of concern in his record.

Get the Story:
ON THE RESERVATION: El Dorado at Last: The Casino Boom (The Wall Street Journal 7/18)