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Court monitor discusses friction
THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2002

Last Updated: 3:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Court monitor Joseph S. Kieffer III released his seventh report today.

The report discusses in detail heightening tensions between the Department of Interior, the Department of Justice and Special Trustee Tom Slonaker. According to Kieffer, Slonaker and his top aide, Tommy Thompson, are faced with "hostility and lack of legal support."

The problem is evidenced by maneuvering by Secretary Gale Norton's defense team, the report states. "The defendants are subject to legal advice and counsel driven by litigation objectives rather than fulfilling the fiduciary responsibilities owed by the Secretary," Kieffer writes.

Norton's public admonishment of Slonaker in a recent memo is also troublesome, Kieffer says. "The Secretary, on the apparent advice of her subordinates and attorneys, has placed the performance and credibility of the Special Trustee in doubt, however questionably, which has further destroyed the possibility of effective trust reform," he writes.

As a result, Slonaker "cannot fulfill his duties under the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994," the report states.

Get the Report:
Kieffer Report (5/2)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://130.94.214.68/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp