-Caveat Lector- Treasury Criticized by Investigator By MATT KELLEY .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Treasury Department lawyers failed to keep the agency from shredding potential evidence in a lawsuit over American Indians' money, then covered up the shredding for more than 14 weeks and misled a federal court about it, a court-appointed investigator concluded. ``This is a system clearly out of control,'' investigator Alan Balaran wrote in the report, released today by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. Justice Department lawyers had asked Lamberth to delay releasing the report, saying it ``could result in severe and unfair damage'' to the reputations of seven Treasury Department lawyers interviewed in the shredding probe. Lamberth rejected that request Monday, noting that more than ten months have passed since the shredding ended. Workers had shredded 162 boxes of documents possibly related to the Indian lawsuit before Treasury Department officials learned of the practice and stopped it on Jan. 27. At the time, Lamberth was considering whether to hold government officials in contempt of court because of mishandling other documents in the case. Lamberth cited then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt for contempt of court in February. Treasury Department lawyers waited more than 14 weeks before notifying Lamberth in May that the 162 boxes of records had been shredded. Lawyers for the federal government made statements to Lamberth about the records that were at best misleading and at worst ``patently untrue,'' Balaran wrote. The lawsuit seeks damages for the government's mismanagement of accounts now worth about $500 million for more than 300,000 individual Indians. The accounts include proceeds from government-approved leases on Indian land for activities such as grazing, logging, mining and oil drilling. The Indians' lawyers said last month they would seek another contempt citation after Balaran found documents relevant to the case dumped into a shed with used tires and other debris on a North Dakota reservation. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
