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Gaming not on Griles' calendars at Interior
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Filed Under: Abramoff Scandal

Interior Secretary Gale Norton poses with lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Chief Phillip Martin on February 5, 2005. File Photo DOI.

Indian gaming was not a top issue for J. Steven Griles during his three years as second-in-command at the Interior Department, according to a review of his government calendars.

As deputy secretary, Griles served as chief operating officer and had the power to intervene on any matter at the department. But when it came to Indian Country, the calendars show he spent his time on issues like the Cobell trust fund case, trust reform and the proposed nuclear waste dump on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation in Utah.

The calendars, however, indicate Griles had many opportunities to talk about other Indian issues. He had regular meetings with Bureau of Indian Affairs officials like former assistant secretary Neal McCaleb, who was in charge of gaming, and discussed tribal matters on a regular basis with former Secretary Gale Norton and her aides, one of whom claimed Griles tried to influence gaming decisions.

The records are also by no means complete or fully accurate -- Griles' November 28, 2001, appearance at the National Congress of American Indians conference in Spokane, Washington, is not listed, for example. And some information is apparently being withheld by Inspector General Earl Devaney, who has been investigating lobbyist contacts at the department.

Nevertheless, the documents are being used by Griles' attorneys to downplay his obstruction of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee's investigation of Jack Abramoff. In hopes of securing a reduced sentence, they acknowledge Griles "was not forthcoming" but argue he never lied about his actual contacts with the convicted lobbyist.

"Moreoever, whatever contacts he had with Mr. Abramoff occurred in the context of his having to deal with thousands of issues as deputy secretary, ranging from the September 11 terrorist attacks, to historic litigation challenging the department's fulfillment of its trust obligations to American Indians, to snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park," the brief stated.

The Department of Justice paints a different view. In their brief, government attorneys cited a "laundry list" of ways Abramoff secured assistance from Griles on a wide range of Indian issues -- including gaming, land-into-trust and appropriations.

One glaring example occurred on February 5, 2002, the day before a significant trust reform hearing in the House. An entry on Griles' calendar documents a "courtesy call" with Mississippi Choctaw Chief Phillip Martin, Abramoff's biggest tribal client.

What really happened was much different, government lawyers noted. Abramoff ended up bringing Martin to the Interior building for a meeting and photo opportunity with Griles and Norton, an event that never appeared in the calendar.

Abramoff and Martin used the time to lobby Griles to block a land-into-trust request and gaming compact for a rival tribe. A month later, McCaleb at the BIA rejected the compact, and a few months after that, Griles sought to influence the land-into-trust application, according to the government and one of Norton's aides.

The February 2, 2002, entry isn't the only connection between Griles and Abramoff. The calendar for October 4, 2001, shows a meeting with Kevin Ring -- one of Abramoff's longtime associates -- to discuss "Little CO River Settlement (Black Mesa Mine)."

At the time, Ring was representing the Hopi Tribe of Arizona, whose issues included water and a coal mine operated by Peabody Energy. The tribe ended up firing Ring after he refused to testify before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee about his dealings with Abramoff.

Griles is due to be sentenced next Tuesday by Judge Ellen Huvelle, who is not bound to accept the sentences being proposed by Griles' attorneys or the government.

Griles Calenders:
July 2001 - February 2002 | February 2002 - July 2002 | July 2002 - December 2002 | December 2002 - July 2003

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