After more than 11 years in the courts, the Cobell trust fund case appears closer to resolution.
On January 30, Judge James Robertson ruled that it was "impossible" to conduct an historical accounting of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust. He said the Interior Department won't be able to repair its breach of trust to Indian account holders.
The Bush administration hasn't responded to the decision. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has offered about $3.5 billion to settle the case and extinguish all future claims related to the trust.
Robertson plans to hold a hearing in the coming weeks to discuss how to resolve the case.
“We know that the government collected our money, but it hasn’t been paid to us as individual Indian beneficiaries,” lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell tells In These Times.
Get the Story:Challenging Indian Land Trusts (In These Times 2/18) Court Decision:
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (January 30, 2008) Final Briefs:
Cobell Brief: Conclusions of Law | Cobell Brief: Findings of Fact | DOJ Brief: Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Trial Transcripts:
Day 1 AM | Day 1 PM | Day 2 AM | Day 2 PM | Day 3 AM | Day 3 PM | Day 4 AM | Day 4 PM | Day 5 AM | Day 5 PM | Day 6 AM | Day 6 PM | Day 7 AM | Day 7 PM | Day 8 AM | Day 8 PM | Day 9 AM | Day 9 PM | Day 10 AM | Day 10 PM Trial Order:
Cobell v. Kempthorne (April 20,2007) Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm Related Stories:
Editorial: Settle 'botched' Indian trust fund (02/06)
Editorial: Settle the Indian trust fund lawsuit (2/4)
Kempthorne reiterates $7B Indian trust offer (2/1)
Editorial: A remedy for 'neglect' of Indian trust (2/1)
Cobell: 'Great day in Indian Country' (1/31)
Judge: Cobell historical accounting 'impossible' (1/30)
Cobell statement on historical accounting decision (1/30)
Jim Cason: Historical accounting facts (01/18)
Cobell: Historical accounting far from accurate (12/14)
Bush shifts historical accounting duty again (12/5)
Opinion: U.S. wages war on Indian landowners (12/4)
Cobell historical accounting briefs due in court (11/30)
Jodi Rave: Cobell trial ends after 10 days (10/29)
Cobell historical accounting trial concludes in DC (10/26)
BIA faulted for trust management in Palm Springs (10/24)
DOJ objected to testimony from Interior attorney (10/24)
Interior attorney set to testify in Cobell case (10/22)
Interior says Cobell suit not worth billions (10/15)
Cason wraps up testimony in trust case (10/12)
Cobell accounting trial opens in DC (10/11)
Cobell historical accounting trial starts in DC (10/10)
CFO Magazine: The Indian trust fund accounting (10/5)
Cobell historical accounting trial starts October 10 (10/1)
BIA agency lacks accounting for millions in trust (09/25)
Audit finds Indian trust management problems (9/24)
Cobell: Upcoming trial tackles important issues (09/19)
Interior attorney to testify at upcoming Cobell trial (9/18)
DOI won't release trust data in Cobell case (9/11)
Interior attorney accused of disclosing trust data (08/29)
Judge opens electronic data to Cobell plaintiffs (07/10)
Another Cobell historical accounting hearing (7/9)
Judge expresses views on Indian trust fund accounting (06/19)
Hearing on Cobell historical accounting trial (6/18)
Cobell prepares for court battle on accounting (5/30)
Cobell prepares for historical accounting trial (5/18)
Judge prods DOI on Indian trust fund accounting (5/15)
First status conference for Cobell accounting trial (5/14)
Cobell status conference pushed back to May 14 (05/02)
Attorney calls $7B Cobell offer pennies on dollar (4/24)
Cobell heads to landmark accounting trial (4/23)
Judge orders Cobell accounting trial for October 10 (4/20)
Jodi Rave: Cobell calls for accountability (4/12)
BIA office in Palm Springs criticized by landowners (4/11)
BIA office in Palm Springs under investigation (4/10)
