Norton Resigns
Gale Norton, President Bush's Secretary of the Interior, has announced her resignation amid charges that she and her former deputy, Steven Griles, had close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
On January 3rd this year Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a plea agreement that requires his cooperation with investigators. The ongoing Abramoff scandal has exposed a slew of ethical violations and nefarious connections involving high-level officials and Indian casinos. Although she has not admitted to any wrongdoing, Norton may be the highest-level casualty so far.
This much is known: Some $500,000 in tribal money was funneled through Abramoff to a group called the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA) that was founded by Interior Secretary Gale Norton to advocate for things like more clearcutting and fewer environmental regulations. Italia Federici, a Norton associate, headed the organization and helped Abramoff and his clients gain personal access to the secretary. CREA, a registered non-profit, used the money to, among other things, fund a full-page newspaper ad praising the environmental merits of President Bush's plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and a grainy TV spot purporting to show Senator Kerry leaving an Earth Day celebration in an SUV.
As for Griles, the Washington Post reported that the number-two man at Interior "advised Abramoff how to get members of Congress to pressure the department and provided him information about Interior decision-making. In one instance, Abramoff wrote to his lobbying colleagues that Griles would be providing a draft of an Interior letter to Congress to give them 'a head start.'" Abramoff also offered Griles a lucrative position while he was still at Interior, emailing lobbying colleagues that Griles, who had lobbied for mining interests prior to joining the Administration, "is ready to leave Interior and will most likely be coming to join us. He had a nice sized practice before he joined Interior, and expects to get that and more rather soon. I expect he will be with us in 90-120 days."
Norton, a protege of Reagan's highly controversial Interior Secretary James Watt, had also lobbied for the mining and logging industry prior to joining the Bush cabinet. In her five years with the Administration, Norton pressured land managers to expedite oil, gas and mineral leases on public lands, re-opened Yellowstone to snowmobile use, stripped roadless rule and other wilderness protections and championed the President's disingenuously named Healthy Forests Initiative.
In her resignation letter, Norton wrote to President Bush that she was now ready to catch her breath and "set [her] sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector."
On January 3rd this year Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a plea agreement that requires his cooperation with investigators. The ongoing Abramoff scandal has exposed a slew of ethical violations and nefarious connections involving high-level officials and Indian casinos. Although she has not admitted to any wrongdoing, Norton may be the highest-level casualty so far.
This much is known: Some $500,000 in tribal money was funneled through Abramoff to a group called the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA) that was founded by Interior Secretary Gale Norton to advocate for things like more clearcutting and fewer environmental regulations. Italia Federici, a Norton associate, headed the organization and helped Abramoff and his clients gain personal access to the secretary. CREA, a registered non-profit, used the money to, among other things, fund a full-page newspaper ad praising the environmental merits of President Bush's plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and a grainy TV spot purporting to show Senator Kerry leaving an Earth Day celebration in an SUV.
As for Griles, the Washington Post reported that the number-two man at Interior "advised Abramoff how to get members of Congress to pressure the department and provided him information about Interior decision-making. In one instance, Abramoff wrote to his lobbying colleagues that Griles would be providing a draft of an Interior letter to Congress to give them 'a head start.'" Abramoff also offered Griles a lucrative position while he was still at Interior, emailing lobbying colleagues that Griles, who had lobbied for mining interests prior to joining the Administration, "is ready to leave Interior and will most likely be coming to join us. He had a nice sized practice before he joined Interior, and expects to get that and more rather soon. I expect he will be with us in 90-120 days."
Norton, a protege of Reagan's highly controversial Interior Secretary James Watt, had also lobbied for the mining and logging industry prior to joining the Bush cabinet. In her five years with the Administration, Norton pressured land managers to expedite oil, gas and mineral leases on public lands, re-opened Yellowstone to snowmobile use, stripped roadless rule and other wilderness protections and championed the President's disingenuously named Healthy Forests Initiative.
In her resignation letter, Norton wrote to President Bush that she was now ready to catch her breath and "set [her] sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector."
5 Comments:
It's 'bout time that witch leaves!
I am so glad, but I am very concerned about what President Cheney, oh I mean Bush has in store. Frightening.
This is from today's Rocky Mountain News:
Advertisement
Home › News › Local
Norton bows out of Interior
Former state AG tells Bush she has reached her goals
AP © 1991
Then state Attorney General Gale Norton gets ready to announce in 1991 that planned tax incentives for United Airlines were unconstitutional.STORY TOOLS
Email this story | Print By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
March 11, 2006
Interior Secretary Gale Norton, a former Colorado attorney general and one of the few remaining members of President Bush's original Cabinet, announced her resignation Friday, ending a five-year run that included frequent clashes with environmentalists and American Indian groups.
Norton, the first woman to serve in the job, said in her resignation letter to Bush that she had achieved her goals.
"Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb, catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector," she said.
"Hopefully, my husband and I will end up closer to the mountains we love in the West."
Norton told reporters Friday that she plans to leave the president's Cabinet later this month. She said the departure has nothing to do with a widely publicized scandal over former casino lobbyist Jack Abramoff's efforts to influence decisions in her agency, which oversees vast tracts of federal and tribal lands.
Meanwhile, she ruled out speculation that she might run for elective office.
"I've had one of the best jobs in government, so I have no plans to go run for another office," Norton said. "My sights are much more set on the private sector. I'm going to be looking across the West to see what opportunities are available."
Among those being mentioned as a possible replacement is former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell and term-limited Gov. Bill Owens, said Sean Conway, chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.
Critics of Bush's environmental policies already are gearing up for a major battle over Norton's replacement.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., signaled he plans to use his senator's prerogative to indefinitely block any Interior secretary nominee who, like Norton, favors plans to allow expanded oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
'James Watt in a skirt'
Norton was considered one of Bush's most loyal foot soldiers, pushing for reform of the Endangered Species Act and using her position to streamline and increase energy exploration.
For that, she became a lightning rod for environmentalists since a contentious confirmation fight in early 2001. Critics labeled her "James Watt in a skirt," referring to the controversial Reagan administration Interior secretary who once worked with Norton at the Mountain States Legal Foundation in Lakewood.
Norton dismissed the critics and used a well-worn mantra about her "Four C's" for lands stewardship: "consultation, cooperation, communication - all in the service of conservation."
But she also became one of the most vocal advocates for the administration's controversial plans to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for energy drilling, and opponents accused her of being in a rush to help industry.
Although she won a handful of green allies in groups such as The Nature Conservancy, she never converted some of her earliest environmental critics.
"I think we'll see her as someone who reversed the direction of conservation policy and really tried to promote polices that benefited the industries over the public interest," said Maribeth Oakes, director of lands protection for the Sierra Club.
With a noncombative, soft-spoken speaking style, Norton slipped into the background over time, as critics directed their ire at the White House in general.
David Alberswerth, who monitored lands issues for The Wilderness Society, said Norton was viewed as an "enthusiastic accomplice" to the president's efforts to open more public lands to oil, gas and mining interests.
"It certainly would be nice to have a conservationist in that position," Alberswerth said Friday. "I just can't imagine we're going to get that in this administration."
Allard, a longtime Norton ally, said Friday that "Colorado and the West have lost a valuable voice in the White House. We have been blessed to have someone heading the Department of the Interior who understands Western issues and concerns."
Rep. Mark Udall, an Eldorado Springs Democrat whose uncle, Stewart Udall, is a past Interior secretary, said Norton had some important accomplishments, such as brokering a long-stalled Colorado River water users agreement.
Where Udall disagreed with her, particularly on accelerated energy exploration, he said, "This administration has a real top-down structure and I think she has been following orders."
Challenges new and old
Norton was drawn into a pair of national controversies involving the American Indian tribes her agency oversees.
She inherited a massive, class- action lawsuit over the department's alleged mismanagement of American Indian trust account funds, which are to compensate American Indians for the use of their lands for energy development and grazing, among other things.
The plaintiffs often tried to sanction Norton, accusing her of intentionally thwarting the judge's orders for a massive accounting review or of cutting funds from other American Indian programs as retaliation for the suit.
In 2005, Norton's name was raised during an investigation of Abramoff, who is accused of exerting improper influence in the Interior Department on behalf of his tribal clients.
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee uncovered e-mails suggesting that a one-time Norton associate, Italia Federici, tried to act as a conduit for Abramoff, helping arrange meetings with Norton or her former top deputy, Steve Griles, and passing information back and forth.
Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, repeatedly told reporters he had found no evidence that Norton had done anything wrong, but Norton still faced uncomfortable scrutiny as Federici and Griles were dragged before the committee.
Norton also faced challenges none of her predecessors could have imagined. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Norton had to shift some of her focus - and budget resources - to repairing a damaged national landmark in New York City and to beefing up security at landmarks she oversees, including the Statue of Liberty.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged offshore oil platforms and other facilities the Interior Department manages along the Gulf Coast.
Norton spent several weeks working with Energy Department officials to get the oil and gas flowing again.
Norton, who turns 52 today, told reporters she had considered stepping down last year but changed her mind because she did not want to leave in the middle of the Katrina disaster.
Asked if she planned to take on any new hobbies, she quipped: "I'm looking forward to visiting a national park without holding a press conference there."
A full five years
Major issues Interior Secretary Gale Norton faced during her five years in President Bush's Cabinet.
• Energy: Played a key role in the Bush administration's push to find new sources of energy. She angered environmentalists by leading calls for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and by making it easier to win oil and gas drilling permits throughout the West, including Colorado.
• Indian affairs: Inherited a massive lawsuit over years of alleged mismanagement by the Interior Depart- ment of Indian trust accounts. She funneled money into an accounting effort to determine how much American Indians are owed for use of their lands, but was often accused in federal courts of dragging her feet. She once called it the biggest dilemma facing her department.
• Forest fires: Pushed for passage of the White House-backed Healthy Forests Act, which accelerated tree thinning in an effort to prevent wildfires.
• Abramoff case: Had to fend off allegations that casino lobbyist Jack Abramoff tried to exert improper influence over department decisions on tribal casinos and land issues. Senate investigators said they found no evidence that Norton did anything wrong. She told reporters Friday: "I feel good about the way decisions have been made in this department."
• Disasters: After the 2001 terrorist attacks, she shifted focus and resources to increase security at national landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty. After Hurricane Katrina, she worked to get damaged drilling platforms back in service.
Reactions to Gale Norton's resignation
• "I think she was more diplomatic than others we've had in the Department of Interior. (It) is a tough job. If you don't take time to listen to members of Congress, don't take time to travel to various parts of the country, it's hard to understand what's important. I think she was very diligent in her efforts."
- Sen. Wayne Allard R-Loveland
• "I have known Gale Norton a long time. I know the sacrifice she has made in her life and her career for public service. I wish her well."
- Sen. Ken Salazar D-Denver
• "As Interior secretary, Gale Norton was an unpopular symbol of unpopular policies. Americans do not believe their public lands should be sold to the highest bidder, and they don't believe in privatizing their parks, forests, monuments. While the symbol of those unpopular policies may be leaving, we don't expect those unpopular policies to change."
- Carl Pope Sierra Club executive director
• "As the first woman secretary of the Interior, my friend Gale Norton will be leaving behind a legacy of balanced conservation, improved land management and respect for private property rights."
Can someone please explain? Is this statement being taken out of context? Or does Carl Pope actually think "balanced" conservation includes selling off our public lands to timber, oil, and coal companies!! I sure hope not.
The Carl Pope statement is the one above his name, where she is called an unpopular symbol of unpopular policies. Therein lies the confusion, I believe.
"Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy"... Gee, that name is about as accurate as "clear skies" and "healthy forests".
Post a Comment
<< Compass Main