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FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2002

An attorney representing 300,000 American Indian trust fund beneficiaries is decrying the Department of Justice's criticism of a court official.

"It's not surprising," said Keith Harper of the Native American Rights Fund. "Anyone who has been critical, they attack."

Harper was responding to a letter from Sandra Spooner, a member of Secretary of Interior Gale Norton's defense team. Spooner is calling on court monitor Joseph S. Kieffer III to submit a new version of a recent report -- minus allegations against Norton and others she termed "patently untrue."

"We respectfully request that you either withdraw the unsupported allegations or cite to the evidence upon which you rely so that we may address that evidence in our response," she wrote.

Kieffer's report discussed tensions affecting Special Trustee Tom Slonaker, the Department of Interior's top reform official.

Spooner in her letter says the report "asserts that the Secretary of the Interior lied in a recent memorandum to the Special Trustee."

Today on Indianz.Com:
Norton deflects misconduct charges (5/10)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://130.94.214.68/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

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Court monitor discusses friction (5/2)
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Report slams top trust reform officials (4/18)
Paper clips and lip service for trust records (4/12)
Judge rejects 'improper' request by Norton (2/6)
Special Trustee: Norton report still 'inadequate' (1/18)
Top trust official lacks 'confidence' in reform (1/9)
Trust fund progress testing 'credibility' (10/11)
Trust fund fix risking 'failure' (10/10)
Memo: Solicitor's order was 'intimidating' (10/10)
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Objections delaying trust fund report (9/6)