-Caveat Lector-
It would be interesting to see how the "most ethical administration in
history," defines ethical.
From:
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/Sept1999/093099/interior092999.htm
Interior Dept. files destroyed before probe
By Ben Anderson
CNS Staff Writer
What began as a Congressional investigation of
spending abuses by the US Fish and Wildlife Service may be
expanded to include obstruction of justice charges after an
agency employee testified that she was ordered to destroy
computer files and told that her career would be in jeopardy if
she cooperated with federal investigators.
The surprise testimony on Wednesday came the same
day the House Resources Committee met to decide whether to
subpoena Assistant Interior Department Secretary Donald Barry to
find out how the Fish and Wildlife Service, a division of the
Interior Department, misused federal funds.
"This investigation started out as simply an
inquiry into how fish and wildlife conservation funds were being
spent," said Resource Committee Chairman Don Young (R-AK). "It
now appears that the situation at the Fish and Wildlife Service
and Department of Interior is rotten to the core."
Bonnie Kline, an eight-year Fish and Wildlife
Service employee, testified that her superiors ordered her not to
cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other
federal investigators, including the Resources Committee
investigation.
Kline also testified that she was instructed to
destroy computer files dating from October 1997 through January
1998 - files which she said are now missing. Kline said that
after refusing to destroy the files, she lost her security
clearance and the combination to her safe, which stored the
files, was changed.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel and a private
attorney are now representing Kline against the Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Young reacted to Kline's testimony with a warning
to any future attempts to conceal evidence from the Committee's
investigation.
"Any Fish and Wildlife Service or Interior
Department employee who destroys any additional records will be
held in Contempt of Congress and face felony charges," Young
said. "Any Department of Interior official who ordered such
actions will be held accountable."
James Beers, a 31-year Fish and Wildlife Service
employee, also testified before the Resources Committee that he
was forced out of his job because he differed with his superiors
at the agency over whether to approve a request for grant money
for The Fund for Animals.
Beers' involvement in the negotiation of an
international agreement concerning humane trapping standards also
contributed to his ousting, according to the US Office of Special
Counsel, which is representing Beers in his legal battles.
The Special Counsel represented Beers against the
Fish and Wildlife Service for violations of federal personnel
regulations and won a settlement of $150,000, restoration of
payment for annual leave, payment of his attorney fees, and a
letter of apology from the Fish and Wildlife Service for its
actions against him.
Kline's revelations came when the Committee met to
consider allowing its investigators to subpoena Assistant
Interior Secretary Donald Barry since previous attempts to compel
him to testify were unsuccessful.
Committee Members voted largely along party lines
to subpoena Barry to force his testimony about alleged "waste,
fraud and abuse" of conservation funds." The only Member to break
ranks with Committee Democrats to vote for the subpoena was Rep.
Owen Picket (D-VA).
"Every committee in Congress with oversight
responsibility must have the ability to get the information it
needs to carry out its oversight duties," Picket told
CNSNews.com.
"This is particularly true where an entity such as
GAO has provided alarming and disturbing testimony of intentional
misconduct by federal government officials and the agency
involved refuses to be forthcoming in its communications to the
committee," Picket added.
General Accounting Office Associate Director Barry
Hill outlined a number of problems his investigators encountered
during an eight-month investigation of the Interior Department's
spending habits.
Under questioning from Committee Members, Hill
testified that the agency played a "shell game" with funds and
that "this is one of the worst managed programs we have
encountered."
Young has become increasingly frustrated with
Barry's reluctance to appear before the committee and suggested
Barry is manipulating his travel schedule to avoid testifying.
"We will not allow him to hide from this
investigation," Young said. "He's known about this hearing for
more than two months and his efforts to create a travel schedule
so that he can't appear this Wednesday is unacceptable. He will
appear and he will answer these allegations."
Young said Barry has "repeatedly dismissed my
requests" to appear before the committee. "As the person with
oversight of these funds, his appearance is vital in our efforts
to find answers to these alarming allegations."
Interior Spokesperson Stephanie Hanna told
CNSNews.com that Young is "over reacting" to Barry's schedule and
added that the Assistant Secretary had scheduled a meeting "weeks
in advance" in Montana. Hanna said Barry has not expressed any
unwillingness to testify before the Resources Committee.
The Interior Department is also under
congressional scrutiny for allegations of political partisanship
involving the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(CNMI), a US territory in the Pacific.
US Fish and Wildlife Service representatives have
not returned CNSNews.com's repeated phone calls for comments on
the committee's investigation or Kline's allegations.
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