A Washington, D.C., watchdog group filed suit against the Interior Department on Wednesday in hopes of obtaining more documents about the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent three Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to Interior earlier this year, seeking documents about Abramoff's contacts with top officials, including Secretary Gale Norton and former deputy secretary J. Steven Griles. Several months later, the group says it is still waiting for information.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee has since released documents that indicate Griles was in contact with Abramoff and Italia Federici, a Republican activist who is close to Norton. CREW says Interior is holding back information.

CREW filed a similar lawsuit against the National Indian Gaming Commission, accusing the agency of failing to comply with FOIA requests. The case is pending in federal court in Washington.

Relevant Links:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - http://www.citizensforethics.org

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