FROM THE ARCHIVE
Contempt sought against Norton Babbitt
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FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2001 A lawyer representing the Cobell v. Norton trust fund plaintiffs on Thursday said he will push contempt of court charges against Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and her predecessor Bruce Babbitt. The calls for contempt come after a court monitor issued a report highly critical of Norton for making inadequate decisions which have unncessarily delayed an historical accounting of the fund owed to an estimated 300,000 American Indians throughout the country. The report ties Norton's bad decision-making to a year of stall tactics by the Babbitt and his top officials. Despite being ordered to do so, the Clinton administration delayed an accounting because officials believed they would prevail on appeal. The appeal failed and the ruling came down as Norton promised trust reform was one of her top priorities. This week in the trust fund debacle:
- Tuesday - Indianz.Com reports Norton has dropped plans to conduct a statistical sampling of Indian trust accounts. Interior tells Indianz.Com that Norton is ready to announce new initiatives, which she does later in the day.
- Wednesday - Indianz.Com reports latest trust software test a failure, causing a delay of up to a year of an expensive accounting system. Cobell plaintiffs lack faith in Norton's new initiatives.
- Thursday - Indianz.Com reports court monitor is critical of Norton and Babbitt. Cobell plaintiffs call for jail time for responsible officials.
Norton rebuked for delays with Indian trust accounts (The Denver Post 7/13) Relevant Links:
Office of the Special Trustee - http://www.ost.doi.gov
Trust Management Improvement Project - http://www.doi.gov/bia/trust/tmip.htm
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com Related Stories:
Norton slammed by trust fund monitor (7/12)
Trust fund account holders call for jail time (7/12)
Norton takes trust into own hands (7/11)
Latest trust fund system a 'failure' (7/11)
Norton drops trust fund sampling plan (7/10)
Special trust fund hearing requested (6/29)
Interior holding back security reports (6/29)
Trust fund contract canceled (6/28)
Action threatened against Interior (6/25)
House approves Interior spending bill(6/22)
McCaleb opposes changes in trust management (6/18)
McCaleb promises swift action on trust funds (6/14)
Norton accused of harassment (6/12)
Trust fund fiasco makes worst list (6/7)
Landmark trust fund ruling won't be appealed (5/31)
Energy Policy: More drillng, more problems (5/31)
Norton: Indian Country won't get ripped off (5/24)
Norton welcomes trust reform monitor (4/25)
Fed instructed to preserve documents (4/20)
Court investigator faults Federal Reserve (4/19)
Court monitor to oversee trust reform (4/17)
Memo: Trust reform project needs extra attention (4/11)
Trust funds still causing trouble (4/11)
BIA official: Organization was in 'disarray' (4/5)
Trust fund to get new lawyer (4/4)
Industry insider named to Interior (3/30)
Interior: Trust reform is working (3/22)
No trust fund settlement just yet (3/22)
'Emergency' trust fund meeting requested (3/21)
BIA Memo: Trust reform out of control (3/16)
More trust documents reported destroyed (3/16)
Norton targeted for contempt (3/15)
Trust fund investigation continues (3/9)
Report: Litigation threatening reform project (3/8)
Message to Norton: Don't Threaten Us (3/7)
Interior to provide anti-retaliation evidence (3/6)
Mona Infield: Indian Country's Linda Tripp? (3/5)
Norton hit on trust fund mess (3/1)
Landmark trust fund decision upheld (2/26)
Interior contempt trial recommended (2/22)
Ex-employee says harassment started at top (2/15)
Intimidation alleged at Interior (2/14)
Norton's trust fund office to be investigated (2/13)
Trust fund decision blasted (1/25)
Records a continued source of problems in lawsuit (01/18)
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You are enjoying stories from the Indianz.Com Archive, a collection dating back to 2000. Some outgoing links may no longer work due to age.
All stories are available for publishing via Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)