And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Interior Lawyer Alleges Corruption
The Associated Press
By PHILIP BRASHER
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An Interior Department lawyer alleges he was ordered by a
superior to dispose of some Indian trust records involved in a class-action
lawsuit against the government.
In an affidavit made public Thursday, Ralph Williams said he declined to get
rid of the material because he thought it would be illegal. He said the
instructions came from the department's deputy solicitor, Ed Cohen.
Interior officials denied any wrongdoing.
The department is being sued for its management of 300,000 Indian accounts
worth $500 million. Last month, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth held
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in
contempt for the government's two-year delay in turning over checks and other
documents related to five account holders who filed the lawsuit. It was not
clear if Williams handled any of those documents.
Lamberth released the affidavit Thursday, along with an order protecting
Williams from retaliation by the department.
The department's chief attorney, Solicitor John Leshy, issued a brief
statement defending Cohen and denying that his office would attempt to dispose
of records that are relevant to the lawsuit. Department officials declined to
make Cohen available for an interview.
Lawyers for the Indian plaintiffs brought Williams' allegation to the judge's
attention after they were approached recently by Williams' attorney. He is
scheduled to give a deposition in the case next week.
In the affidavit, Williams said he had been given the job of reconciling
discrepancies in the trust accounts. Once that was done, he was supposed ``to
ensure that ... any other information which was inconsistent from my findings
could be purged from the files,'' he said.
Williams still works in the solicitor's office. He did not respond to a
request for an interview Thursday.
The Interior Department manages $2.5 billion belonging to tribes in addition
to the $500 million owned by individual Indians. The money includes lease
revenues, royalties and court settlements.
Lawyers for the Indians allege that the funds were mismanaged for decades and
that the government could be liable for billions of dollars in claims.
Legislation was introduced in the Senate Thursday to let tribes have their
money transferred to private banks.
``This bill is the first step, but it is an indication that many in Congress
have no faith in the Interior Department's ability to manage these accounts,''
said the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Ben Nighthorse
Campbell, R-Colo. ``There seems to be an institutional rot there that does not
go away.''
Campbell cosponsored the bill with Sen. Frank Murkowski, an Alaska Republican
who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
AP-NY-03-25-99 2118EST
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press..
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Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
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