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Judge shows no faith in agency's accounting
Associated Press
Published January 31, 2008
WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Interior Department has "unreasonably delayed" its accounting for billions of dollars owed to American Indian landholders. The federal agency "has not, and cannot, remedy the breach" of its responsibilities to account for the American Indian money, U.S. District Judge James Robertson said in a 165-page decision in a long-running federal lawsuit alleging mismanagement of American Indian trust funds. "Indeed, it is now clear that completion of the required accounting is an impossible task," Robertson said. The suit, first filed in 1996 by Blackfeet Indian Elouise Cobell, says the government has mismanaged more than $100-billion in oil, gas, timber and other royalties held in trust from Indian lands dating to 1887. The lawsuit deals with individual American Indians' lands. Several tribes have sued separately, claiming mismanagement of their lands. The government proposed paying $7-billion partly to settle the Cobell lawsuit in March, but that was rejected by the plaintiffs, who estimate the government's liability could exceed $100-billion. The Interior Department estimates that it has spent $127-million on its accounting in the past five years. An Interior Department spokeswoman said officials were reviewing Robertson's decision and had no immediate comment. Robertson said he will schedule a hearing in the next month to discuss solutions. He added that his conclusion that Interior is unable to perform an adequate accounting does not mean that the task is hopeless.
[Last modified January 31, 2008, 02:06:52]
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