The special master in the Cobell trust fund lawsuit prepared a legal opinion clearing several current and former government officials of contempt, a federal judge revealed on Thursday, but a disqualification campaign by the Bush administration and some of the individuals involved blocked its release.

Dozens of people, including former Interior secretary Bruce Babbitt, are accused by the plaintiffs of destroying trust records in violation of court orders. In hopes of clearing up the allegations, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth referred the matter to Alan Balaran, the former special master in the case.

Balaran held a series of hearings to investigate the matter and prepared reports that detailed his findings. But before he could submit anything to Lamberth, a group of the individuals, led by Babbitt, asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the release of the information.

The appeals court agreed with the individuals and ensured Balaran's work would never see the light of day. The decision was a legal victory for the Babbitt group, which contended the contempt proceedings were unwarranted and riddled with bias.

The effort also was a win for the Bush administration even though it did not participate in the appeals court case. On their own, lawyers for Interior Secretary Gale Norton filed a series of motions seeking to disqualify Balaran, whose scathing reports repeatedly faulted the department's management of the trust.

Yet despite the apparent benefits, Lamberth revealed in court yesterday that the effort definitely hurt dozens of past and present officials who are the target of contempt sanctions. He said he did not know the exact contents of the opinion Balaran prepared but that it would have helped "the vast majority of the individuals" involved.

"I think that's unfortunate for the people who were about to be cleared," Lamberth said.

Lamberth presided over a 2 1/2-hour hearing in Washington, D.C., to get an update on the brouhaha. He expressed disappointment at the amount of time it has been since the plaintiffs first filed their motions to show cause in late 2001.

Lamberth hoped referring the motions to Balaran would help the people involved. "I thought it would speed up things," he said. "I never dreamed it would last four years."

Another delay occurred when the Babbitt group asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. Not happy with Balaran's exit, they wanted Lamberth disqualified from reviewing the contempt motions.

On February 22, the high court rejected the case, allowing Lamberth to move forward. Dennis Gingold, an attorney for the plaintiffs, argued that the judge should act as soon as possible.

"Your honor, it's time to move forward," Gingold told the court. "We will demonstrated to you who is at fault and who isn't." Of potential punishment, which he speculated could include fines or something harsher, "We want this to stick with them for the rest of their lives."

In opposition were four distinct groups and dozens of attorneys who filled the fourth-floor courtroom to capacity. The Department of Justice represented Secretary Gale Norton and other Bush administration officials while three other lawyers in private practice represented different groups of the individuals who have been named in the motions.

"The entire group believes the plaintiffs have not born their burden" to prove contempt, said Bill Briggs, whose clients include Phillip Brooks, former lead counsel on the Cobell case for the Department of Justice.

Lamberth said he would accept the filing of briefs and other information that had previously been lodged with Balaran. He also expressed interest in Gingold's offer to drop the contempt matter if the Bush administration agrees to a trial on June 6 -- exactly nine years after the Cobell case was filed -- on the merits.

"Justice delayed is justice denied," Gingold said. The Department of Justice had no immediate response to the offer but Briggs and Amy Jackson, whose clients include Edith Blackwell, an Interior Department attorney, and Michael Rossetti, Norton's former legal counsel now employed by a law and lobbying firm, criticized the attempt to "leverage" the contempt motions.

Gingold said a trial on the merits is necessary to prevent the Bush administration from spending even more money on historical accounting projects that have diverted millions of funds from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "We have enough evidence to find that the accounting is futile," he argued, referring specifically to a $21 million project the BIA spent on the accounts of the five named plaintiffs in the case.

Gingold also said the Supreme Court's unanimous decision this week in the self-determination contract support cost case shows that the government has to fulfill its promises to Indian people. "They believe Indians in this country should be treated differently than everyone else," he said of the government's attitude.

Balaran resigned as special master in April 2004, saying it was clear that the Bush administration was going to continue attacking his work. Norton's lawyers have since filed three motions with the D.C. Circuit to block of his reports -- including one that detailed undervaluation of Navajo lands -- from being filed with Lamberth. The reports were already made public but have not been accepted in the formal record in the case.

Recent Court Orders:
Historical Accounting | Contempt Proceedings

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust