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MacDonald Becomes Latest Official to Depart Interior Agency Plagued by Scandal, Corruption Under Bush Administration
The Department of the Interior has confirmed that Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Julie MacDonald submitted her resignation late yesterday, Monday 30 April. Statement of Sean Cosgrove, Sierra Club Senior Washington Representative "The resignation of Julie MacDonald from the Department of the Interior is merely the latest example of the serious corruption problem that appears to be endemic amongst senior officials at the agency. The former Deputy Secretary of Interior, Stephen Griles, recently pleaded guilty to crimes that made him the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted to date in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal. That same probe is creeping ever closer to former Interior Secretary turned energy industry lobbyist Gale Norton. The Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy--co-founded by Norton and Italia Federici, Griles’ former girlfriend--has come under serious scrutiny for illegally lobbying on behalf of Abramoff’s clients while Norton was at Interior. "Beyond ill-gotten gains and other issues of serious public corruption, the problems at Interior pose serious threats to endangered species and their habitat, public lands, and the integrity of the policy process. Along with officials at other executive agencies, senior officials at Interior have put politics ahead of science time and time again when making important policy decisions. Instead of policy that is based on sound scientific judgment, officials at Interior have consistently ignored the public trust to favor the interests of developers and those in the oil, gas and mining industries. "Unfortunately, MacDonald’s resignation does not come as a surprise and is merely another step toward a much-needed house cleaning at Interior."
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