Facing charges, Griles steps down from federal panel

Tuesday, January 16, 2007  

J. Steven Griles, the former deputy secretary of the Interior Department who is facing prosecution for the Jack Abramoff scandal, resigned from the federal commission that has been planning Jamestown's 400th anniversary.

Griles, a resident of Virginia, resigned from the Jamestown 400th Commemoration Commission amid news reports that he could be charged for lying to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Federal prosecutor are looking at his testimony from November 2005, when he said he didn't favor Abramoff's tribal clients and didn't actively seek a job at Abramoff's former law firm.

Griles started his own lobbying firm after leaving the Bush administration. His clients include energy companies and the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, whose trust mismanagement suit against Interior was defended by Sue Ellen Wooldridge, a former Interior and Justice Department official who has been dating Griles and resigned from her federal post last week.

Get the Story:
Jamestown 2007 planner resigns (The Hampton Roads Daily Press 1/16)
Jamestown 400th anniversary commission member resigns amid probe (AP 1/16)

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