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Judge: I was duped by government
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2002 Last updated: 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The federal judge overseeing the trust fund said today he was "duped" by the federal government, criticizing officials and attorneys for playing "word games" with the assets of 300,000 American Indians. During closing arguments in Secretary Gale Norton's contempt trial, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said he has been "troubled" by the government's handling of the Internet shutdown that has delayed payments to Indian beneficiaries. After being told that grazing checks were being disbursed, he said he was "dumbfounded" to learn that National Congress of American Indians President Tex Hall and more than 6,000 members of his tribe haven't received funds promised to them. But in trying to understand how a Department of Justice attorney could have confused him, Lamberth admitted he was flabbergasted. "It's a word game," he said. "It's beyond my belief how the court ever gets control," he added. Lamberth expressed serious concerns about the lack of security measures that have plagued the Department of Interior's information technology systems for years. He said "untold amounts of money could have disappeared" without no one ever noticing. "That's what's most shocking of all," Lamberth said. "How a trustee can get into the position of allowing those systems to be totally at risk . . . almost boggles my mind." An attorney representing the Indian beneficiaries said that was the reason Lamberth needed to act and place the system into receivership. "The trust is in crisis," said Dennis Gingold. "Something has to be done now." Gingold spent two hours on his closing argument before a break in the proceedings. The government will get its say this afternoon. 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 Related Stories:
Contempt testimony concludes (2/20)
Norton dropping Clinton policy (2/20)
McCaleb talks trust with Sam (2/19)
Norton recounts shaky year in trust (2/15)
Norton tries to convince judge on trust reform (2/14)
Norton says plaintiffs' accounting complete (2/14)
Griles has hope on contempt (2/13)
Norton concludes testimony (2/13)
Norton takes the stand in contempt (2/13)
Norton agrees to testify (2/12)
Norton set for trial testimony (2/12)
Trust fund mess blamed on Babbitt (2/11)
Norton ordered to testify (2/8)
Trust system takes center stage in contempt (2/1)
Federal judge resuming Norton contempt trial (1/31)
Norton effort 'too little, too late' for judge (1/16)
Interior official denies trust fund 'conspiracy' (1/15)
Witness testifies against software corruption (1/15)
Dom Nessi expected as Norton witness (1/14)
Norton launches contempt defense (1/11)
Cobell plaintiffs rest case (1/10)
End in sight for Norton contempt trial (1/10)
Top trust official lacks 'confidence' in reform (1/9)
Babbitt, others dropped as witnesses (1/9)
Trial resumes with trust testimony (1/7)
Contempt trial resumes in federal court (1/4)
Cobell: Justice for Indian Country (12/24)
Contempt trial breaking for Christmas (12/21)
IIM checks being delayed at Interior (12/21)
Interior can't find proof of corruption (12/21)
Tribal leaders blast Norton proposal (12/21)
Reports crucial to Norton contempt (12/21)
TAAMS failure traced to first manager (12/20)
TAAMS: The Titanic Failure (12/20)
Judge questions role in trust fund 'circus' (12/20)
Norton drops objections to court monitor (12/20)
TAAMS: The Titanic Failure (12/20)
Judge questions role in trust fund 'circus' (12/20)
TAAMS failure traced to promoted manager (12/20)
Ruling on court monitor put off (12/20)
Norton ordered to submit trust fund report (12/18)
Judge rebuffs Norton challenge (12/17)
Week two of trial continues today (12/17)
History of neglect drives trust case (12/17)
Judge eager for Norton testimony (12/13)
Editorial: Bad faith, wasted dollars (12/13)
Confusion, conflict detailed at Interior (12/12)
Exclusive: Trust reform assessment (12/12)
Lamberth pokes fun at government (12/12)
EDS trust reform report online (12/12)
Coverage of Contempt Trial, Day 2 (12/12)
Contempt trial continues (12/11)
Contested reports focus of contempt trial (12/11)
The Trial: Witnesses to Contempt (12/11)
Coverage of Contempt Trial, Day 1 (12/11)
Norton contempt trial opens (12/10)
Norton attacks court monitor (12/10)
Norton set for contempt trial (12/10)
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