FROM THE ARCHIVE

ADVANCE: Norton verified 'untruthful' report

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2001

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton has verified an "untruthful, inaccurate and incomplete" status update regarding the trust fund, a court monitor charges today in his fourth report.

And despite a lengthy and serious letter written by her top trust fund official, his concerns remain "unresolved," court monitor Joseph S. Kieffer III added. "There is no one in charge of trust reform operations," Kieffer says.

After an unapproved one-month delay, the Department of Interior finally turned in its seventh quarterly report. A group of senior managers refused to verify its contents, citing potential legal ramifications but also saying Norton's top level legal official was "intimidating" them into doing so.

Special Trustee Tom Slonaker made various objections to the report, which Norton's lawyers used as an excuse to delay the report.

Get the Report:
FOURTH REPORT OF THE COURT MONITOR (10/16)

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Trust fund fix risking 'failure' (10/10)
Memo: Solicitor's order was 'intimidating' (10/10)
In The Hoop: Interior Bungling (10/10)