And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Return-path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Judge To Investigate Babbitt Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 17:02:06 EST Judge To Investigate Babbitt .c The Associated Press By PHILIP BRASHER WASHINGTON (AP) -- A judge threatening to hold Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in contempt for his department's failure to hand over Indian trust records for a lawsuit is looking into Babbitt's recent moves against the officials in charge of the accounts. As a contempt hearing opened Monday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth announced he would subpoena former Special Trustee Paul Homan to testify about Babbitt's actions. Homan, a presidential appointee, quit last week after Babbitt ordered a reorganization of the trust office, which is in charge of cleaning up nearly $3 billion in funds held for tribes and individual Indians. Homan, a former bank executive and federal bank regulator, wasn't consulted about the overhaul and accused Babbitt of undermining his authority. ``Don't you think Mr. Homan's resignation flies in the face of the secretary's contention that he's acting in good faith?'' the judge asked government lawyers. The Interior Department is being sued over its admitted decades-long mismanagement of the Indian trust funds, and the government lawyers said Babbitt's reorganization of the trust office showed he was dealing with the problem. His actions included reassigning the top recordkeeping official. ``If you've got a football team that isn't winning, sometimes the coach has got to go,'' said Justice Department lawyer Phillip Brooks. ``The secretary is entitled to pick his coach, because he's in trouble here and he's entitled to try and fix it.'' Lamberth last month lost patience with delays in producing canceled checks and other account records for the lawsuit's five lead plaintiffs and he ordered the contempt hearing for Babbitt and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. The hearing is expected to take a week. It isn't clear whether Babbitt, who appears to be the judge's main concern, will be forced to testify. The funds include 300,000 accounts held by individual Indians worth $500 million and another 2,000 tribal accounts. The lawsuit focuses on the individual accounts. The special trustee's office is responsible for handling the money and improving the accounting system. Leases and other records necessary for reconciling the accounts are scattered around the country in various Bureau of Indian Affairs offices. Homan was appointed to his post in 1995 under a set of congressionally ordered reforms. In a letter to the judge, the trust office's advisory board said Homan's departure would ``undoubtedly curtail progress on the reforms.'' AP-NY-01-11-99 1701EST Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. <<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>> If you think you are too small to make a difference; try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.... African Proverb <<<<=-=http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ =-=>>>> IF it says: "PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...." Please Check it before you send it at: http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm
