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MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2002

Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb will testify a second time about his destruction of e-mails in contravention of court orders and government policy.

McCaleb, who admitted he didn't follow procedure to save his electronic correspondence, is to be deposed on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Dennis Gingold, an attorney representing the Indian plaintiffs in the trust fund lawsuit, will question the outgoing Bush official.

McCaleb previously testified about the incident on December 6. But during that proceeding, only special master Alan Balaran posed questions.

Subsequently, Jean Maybe, a staff assistant to McCaleb, was called in on December 11. She disputed her boss's recollection of events, according to Gingold, who was present at the deposition but did not ask questions.

Aurene Martin, the deputy assistant secretary, testified on Friday. Attorneys in the case declined to discuss the content of the deposition. She was McCaleb's legal counsel when the e-mail destruction started in December 2001. She was promoted to her current position in May of this year.

Balaran has been authorized to conduct a full investigation into the e-mail incident, which was reported to the court in October. He may recommend contempt citations against McCaleb and others implicated.

McCaleb will leave his post on December 31. It is widely believed among tribal leaders close to the administration that Martin will be named acting assistant secretary but the Department of Interior has not made any announcements about the pending vacancy.

Prior to joining the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Martin served on the Republican staff of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, where she worked for Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.).

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://www.ncai.org/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

Related Stories:
Deposition and hearing on trust fund (12/13)
McCaleb e-mail probe widens (12/11)
McCaleb aide ordered to testify (12/9)
McCaleb being deposed on e-mails (12/6)
Interior's casualties of war (11/25)
McCaleb resigning from BIA (11/22)
17 months at arm's length (11/22)
Court cites 'troubling record' at Interior (11/14)
McCaleb admits to e-mail 'misunderstanding' (10/23)
Interior admits to more destruction of e-mails (10/22)
Probe raises more questions than answers (08/07)
DOI investigation released (8/7)
No one to punish for destroyed e-mails (4/10)
Request for trust fund probe rejected (11/7)
Internal trust fund investigation sought (8/22)