Tiny praise for Norton on trust

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2002

There was little praise for Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and Indian affairs aide Neal McCaleb in a court ruling holding them in contempt for misleading a federal judge about efforts to fix the broken Indian trust.

Except, as Bill McAllister notes in his Beltway Notebook column, for a couple of pages in the massive ruling. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said Norton has been "marginally" more responsive to his court ever since being threatened with sanctions.

The rest, as has been reported, was dismally bad for the Bush appointees who were blasted as "unfit" trustee-delegates for Indian funds.

Get the Story:
Beltway Notebook: Cold comfort for Norton: She's not alone in contempt (The Denver Post 9/22)
Interior management slammed (Federal Computer Week 9/23)

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
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://www.ncai.org/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

Related Stories:
Norton's denials ring hollow (9/20)
McCaleb blames trust fund on Babbitt (9/20)
Editorial: Norton's trust boondoggle (9/20)
Editorial: Norton 'toss in the towel' (9/20)
Norton's contempt worries not over (9/19)
Editorial: Norton has made no reforms (9/19)
Column: Norton, aides like 'kids' on trust (9/19)
Norton cited for Indian trust 'fraud' (9/19)
Norton 'unfit' to manage Indian trust (9/18)
Griles nearly perjured himself (9/18)
Congress responds to contempt (9/18)
Lamberth makes ruling on trust (9/18)
Editorial: Send Norton the liar to jail (9/18)
Editorial: Norton deserves rebuke (9/18)
Editorial: Norton is 'disgrace' (9/18)
Slonaker feels vindicated by ruling (9/18)
Norton found in contempt for trust fund (9/17)
Judge holds Norton in contempt (9/17)
Rahall: End the trust fund charade (9/17)