Attorney James Meggesto and his Twitter profile

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) is demanding an apology from a Washington, D.C., attorney for a Twitter post about Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr.

During a May 16 hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee, attorney James Meggesto accused Norris of "lying under oath." He also said Grijalva was "enabling" the alleged perjury.

Meggesto, whose Twitter handle is DCIndianLaw, deleted the post. But Grijalva said it was offensive and called for an apology.

"Such an accusation should not be taken lightly," Grijalva said at a committee markup yesterday.

Meggesto, who is a member of the Onondaga Nation, did not respond to an inquiry from Indianz.Com. He was on Capitol Hill yesterday and tweeted one post during the National Indian Gaming Association legislative summit.

He didn't respond to Politico either but his firm, Akin Gump, said it was looking into the matter.

“Mr. Meggesto’s personal tweets are not necessarily reflective of the views of Akin Gump on this or any matter,” a spokesperson for the firm told Politico in a statement. “We are aware of the issue raised by Rep. Grijalva today and are reviewing the matter internally.”

Akin Gump represents the Gila River Indian Community, whose leaders oppose the Tohono O'odham Nation's proposed casino. The committee yesterday voted 35-5 to pass H.R.1410, a bill that blocks the casino.

This isn't the first time the firm has looked into the Internet activities of its attorneys. In early 2011, a partner stopped blogging after he wrote, then deleted, a post that ridiculed a prayer offered by a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe at a ceremony for the victims of a shooting in Arizona.

The firm issued an apology. Meggesto, incidentally, said he was one of the first people to investigate the matter, which drew widespread media coverage.

Audio from the committee's debate on the bill can be found on the Indianz.Com SoundCloud. Grijalva's comments about Meggesto come about 10:14 into the file:

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Raul Grijalva wants apology for lobbyist tweet (Politico 7/24)

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