government veracity

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Court-appointed investigator calls Treasury Department 'out of control'

WASHINGTON -- (AP) -- Treasury Department lawyers failed to keep the agency from shredding potential evidence in a lawsuit over American Indians' money, then covered up the shredding for more than 14 weeks and misled a federal court about it, a court-appointed investigator concluded.

``This is a system clearly out of control,'' investigator Alan Balaran wrote in the report, released today by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth.

Justice Department lawyers had asked Lamberth to delay releasing the report, saying it ``could result in severe and unfair damage'' to the reputations of seven Treasury Department lawyers interviewed in the shredding probe. Lamberth rejected that request Monday, noting that more than ten months have passed since the shredding ended.

Workers had shredded 162 boxes of documents possibly related to the Indian lawsuit before Treasury Department officials learned of the practice and stopped it on Jan. 27. At the time, Lamberth was considering whether to hold government officials in contempt of court because of mishandling other documents in the case.

Lamberth cited then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt for contempt of court in February.

Treasury Department lawyers waited more than 14 weeks before notifying Lamberth in May that the 162 boxes of records had been shredded. Lawyers for the federal government made statements to Lamberth about the records that were at best misleading and at worst ``patently untrue,'' Balaran wrote.

The lawsuit seeks damages for the government's mismanagement of accounts now worth about $500 million for more than 300,000 individual Indians. The accounts include proceeds from government-approved leases on Indian land for activities such as grazing, logging, mining and oil drilling.

The Indians' lawyers said last month they would seek another contempt citation after Balaran found documents relevant to the case dumped into a shed with used tires and other debris on a North Dakota reservation. t Your government at work folks, and does anyone think we can trust them on their Y2k readiness assurances? Ahh-haaaa-haaaaa-haaaaaaaaaaa-tears of laughter!

-- doktorbob (downsouth@dixie.com), December 07, 1999

Answers

On what day after rollover can we start shooting them?

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), December 07, 1999.

Gee, you know I can't help but wonder what kind of retaliation the american people will exact on the powers that be.

I think that desperate, hungry people will be *very* angry for being lied to one time too many.

-- (formerly nobody@nowhere.xzz), December 07, 1999.


war and revolution

-- 21 days (all@will.change), December 07, 1999.

Once again the government has screwed the Indians. A pattern of betrayl of over one hundred years.

Will Kevin Cosner and other Indian-concerned liberals stand-up and scream against this injustice? Conservatives who do it will be viewed as merely playing politics.

I don't think Kevin or Hanoi Jane or Jessie Jackson or Ted Kennedy will say a single pious word against Treasury because they IMHO care more about politics than they do about principles.

Nope, Klintonistas will stay quiet.

And later when it is safe they will again rail against the evils done to the Indians one hundred years ago as if we are now more moral than the good folks were back then in Washington. They are exactly like the good folks of government they condemn.

Forum: Please excuse me for getting so mad at this hypocrisy.

-- Dana (A_Non_O_Moose@xxx.com), December 07, 1999.


Sure Dana, and it was the liberals who killed them, took their land, put them on reservations, and destroyed their culture.

You can fit any and everything into your anti-Clinton campaign, even genocide.

Pete

-- Peter Starr (startrak@northcoast.com), December 07, 1999.



I like bureaucrats well done, with a little salt and pepper, and maybe a splash of Tobasco.

-- Porky (Porky@in.cellblockD), December 07, 1999.

Tobasco is best on bureaucrat when splahsed on the eyes before roasting.

>"<

-- SH (squirrel@huntr.com), December 07, 1999.


Pete; If after, "That depends on what the meaning of is, is" and "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinski" and God knows how many other lies that fellow has told, you can still support him, then you fit in the first category.

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." -- A. Lincoln.

Get a grip Pete, you are showing your foolishness.

-- (...@.......), December 07, 1999.


Watch what you say about the feds or this could be you.WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department inspector general reaffirmed Tuesday that a federal inmate committed suicide in an Oklahoma cell in 1995, but recommended discipline for four federal officers who allegedly lied during investigations of the death. Although rejecting allegations of a coverup, the inspector general criticized the Bureau of Prisons' response, the FBI's investigation and the FBI's handling of evidence in the death of Kenneth M. Trentadue on Aug. 21, 1995 in the Federal Transfer Center at the Oklahoma City airport.

Trentadue was found hanging in his cell, but his brother, Jesse, believes he was murdered by guards who tried to make the death look like a suicide. Trentadue's estate is suing federal agencies and officers.

Published reports have suggested the inspector general's report might raise questions about the FBI's investigation of the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in April 1995.

But a 15-page summary released Tuesday did not question the FBI's handling of bombing evidence, and officials said the problems cited probably did not extend to the handling of bombing evidence. The full 206-page version remains secret while officials delete grand jury and privacy information.

In its most serious criticism, the summary said, "Three BOP employees and one FBI employee made false statements under oath to their supervisors, to various investigators or to the Office of the Inspector General in this matter."

None were named, but the report said a Bureau of Prisons lieutenant admitted misstating when he notified the FBI about the death.

These four were referred to Justice's criminal division for possible prosecution, but it declined to charge them. The inspector general now has recommended their agencies impose "significant discipline" for "serious misconduct."

The inspector general joined the Oklahoma County district attorney and the state medical examiner in concluding Trentadue killed himself by hanging. A federal grand jury had found no evidence to refute that.

Scott Adams, attorney for Trentadue's estate, said the government in its conclusions appears to be continuing an effort to "put square pegs into round holes."

The summary said the autopsy showed Trentadue's wounds could have been self-inflicted and none were defensive, he was alive when hanged and had not been drugged. FBI tests did not find anyone else's blood on items taken from the cell.

And no credible inmate or officer witness saw or heard any beating in the special unit where Trentadue was held alone in a cell, the summary said. The unit's guards passed polygraph tests.

But the inspector general criticized guards for observing and videotaping Trentadue hanging in his cell for at least six minutes before entering and for declaring him dead without trying to revive him. Prison officials were criticized for cleaning the cell before the medical examiner saw it.

The FBI's initial investigation was called "significantly flawed." Agents took days to interview witnesses and months to collect physical evidence. These flaws were "too numerous and too fundamental" to have resulted solely because the bombing investigation was draining office resources, the report said.

The FBI "mishandled various pieces of evidence," the summary said. The sheet that covered Trentadue's body was stored improperly and had putrified by the time the FBI Laboratory examined it. The FBI mislaid photo negatives and there were problems in documenting "the chain of custody of evidence."

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), December 07, 1999.


Pete:

You exactly fulfilled the liberal template that I predicted in my post:

1) You spoke against what was done to the Indians in the past. 2) You didn't touch with a ten-foot pole the Treasury department that is abusing them NOW IN OUR TIME.

Why not fulfill this template: 1) Oppose injustices done to the Indians by our country in the past. 2) Oppose injustices done by the Indians to us or to other Indians in our nation's history. 3) Oppose any injustice NOW to ANYONE.

Honest question: Why do you think K Costner, J Fonda, J Jackson, or T Kennedy haven't screamed about this? Do you think they would have stayed quiet if Bob Dole was the president? Is Pete going to scream about this or just point the finger at so-called conservatives of one hundred years ago?

-- Dana (A_Non_O_Moose@xxx.com), December 07, 1999.



The American Indian Movement, not exactly a bunch of Young Republicans, has been fighting for 30 years to keep the big mining companies off of the their Black Hills lands.

Trying to prevent Land Rape at the Hands of Big Corporations.

Do you see where this is going?

See ya

Pete

-- Peter Starr (startrak@northcoast.com), December 07, 1999.


Interesting note: they used Hillareek Klintoons' shredder.

-- Giveup The Gunzor (UllBNext@capinyerass.MIB.com), December 08, 1999.

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