Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 21, 2008 10:28:05 GMT -5
Tribe Gets OK To Re-Examine Denial Process
Judge say's Schaghticokes' evidence of political pressure raises questions
By Scott Ritter
A federal judge has ruled that the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation can pursue its
claim that political pressure scuttled its long-fought bid for federal
recognition.
In a decision last week, U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey of New Haven
said evidence offered by the Kent-based Schaghticokes “raises some questions
about whether there was improper political influence.†He granted the tribe
permission to further explore its claims.
The Interior Department first acknowledged the Schaghticokes as a legitimate
tribe in 2004, a designation that offered the promise of federal aid and the
possibility of gaming riches.
But the government's decision riled Connecticut's congressional delegation,
which feared the spread of casino gambling in the state. Just weeks later,
Gale Norton, then secretary of the Interior Department, was summoned to a
Capitol Hill conference room.
It was a “fairly emotional meeting,†Norton recalled in a recent deposition
cited in Dorsey's ruling. Those at the meeting included Rep. Christopher
Shays, R-4th District, and former Reps. Nancy Johnson, R-5th District, and Rob
Simmons, R-2nd District. Rep. Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican and an ardent
gambling foe, was also there.
“The members of Congress felt strongly that I should just stop this process,
stop letting any new gaming take place,†Norton said. “And I repeatedly had
to explain to them that that wasn't our role.â€
What happened next, attorneys for the tribe argue, was just one example of
the political pressure that would lead a top Interior official, Associate
Deputy Secretary James E. Cason, to reverse the recognition decision on May 12,
2005.
“Congressman Wolf said he would tell (President Bush) he thought I ought to
be fired,†Norton said.
•••••“The Schaghticoke are the first tribe in history to have had a
recognition decision taken away in this manner,†former Assistant U.S. Attorney
Thomas Murphy, a Schaghticoke attorney, told the court. “The existing record is
replete with suggestions that the reversal was improperly influenced by
well-lobbied political pressure.â€
But Connecticut lawmakers and the state's attorney general, Richard
Blumenthal, dismissed allegations of undue political influence.
“From all we know, these very far-fetched and apparently unfounded claims are
simply a smokescreen that this group is seeking to use in deflecting
attention from the (recognition) petition's main problem,†Blumenthal said. “There
is absolutely no basis ... for this group to meet the legal criteria for
recognition, and that fact ultimately will carry the day against them.â€
But the Schaghticokes, whose recognition bid is backed by Subway restaurant
chain founder Fred DeLuca, say their very existence as a tribal nation is at
stake.
“The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation believes there was a clear and deliberate
political effort to overturn our recognition in Washington,†the tribe's
longtime chief, Richard Velky, said in a statement. “We look forward to resolving
these issues and ultimately restoring our recognition.â€
Federal recognition would make the tribe eligible to receive aid for health
care, housing and education. It would also put the tribe on track to offer
casino gaming at some point in the future, possibly in Bridgeport.
•••••The Interior Department's recognition of the Schaghticoke tribe raised
a furor on Capitol Hill, and not just from Connecticut lawmakers. Interior
Department officials were subjected to “the wrath of congressional leadersâ€
during hearings before the House Government Reform Committee and the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs in 2004 and early 2005, attorneys for the tribe
said.
Cason and Norton have denied under oath that political pressure played a
role. But Dorsey last week ruled that the tribe could question two additional
Interior officials — Lee Fleming, the director of the Office of Federal
Acknowledgment, and David Bernhardt, then Norton's deputy chief of staff and the
department's primary liaison to Congress.
Both played key roles in the decision and attended the congressional hearings
or meetings with Connecticut lawmakers.
Dorsey also ruled that the high-powered Washington lobbying firm of Barbour,
Griffith & Rogers must turn over any communications it had with lawmakers
and Interior Department officials on behalf of its client, an anti-casino group
called Town Action to Save Kent.
E-mails from TASK and Barbour, Griffith “raise questions about the amount of
political influence at the agency level,†the judge wrote. He said tribal
lawyers would be allowed to question an official from the lobbying firm under
oath.
A Barbour, Griffith executive said in an affidavit that he was aware of only
one attempt to contact top Interior Department officials regarding the
Schaghticokes' recognition — a phone call that was never returned. Assistant U.S.
Attorney John B. Hughes told the court there was no evidence that the
recognition reversal “was impacted by improper influence or political pressure.â€
•••••Members of Connecticut's congressional delegation say their meeting
with Norton wasn't meant to win a reversal of the tribe's recognition, but
instead to raise concerns about the process and the possibility that casino
gambling could spread beyond the two tribal resorts in southeastern Connecticut.
“The idea of populating our state with very large casinos was a matter of
great concern to our citizens,†Simmons, the former eastern Connecticut
congressman, said. “When we inquired of the secretary on this very important
subject, I had the feeling that she wasn't paying much attention to us.â€
He said Wolf “was not making a threat in an effort to get or determine a
certain outcome; he simply wanted her to respond to our questions.â€
Norton, in her deposition, conceded that she “did not lose any sleep over the
threat†from Wolf.
Johnson said lawmakers wanted to make sure that recognition applications were
judged on their merits by officials “well versed in the law.â€
“I particularly wanted her to understand the impact that this would have on
people who have owned their land, in some cases in Kent, before the Revolution,
†Johnson said.
Lawmakers were also concerned that tribes were looking to use campaign
contributions to gain access to elected officials and the Interior Department's
Bureau of Indian Affairs, said Shays. “We told the BIA they needed to follow the
law and we'd hold them accountable if they didn't,†he said in a statement.
Dorsey could begin deliberating on briefs in the case this fall, attorneys
involved in the case said. The judge has a number of options, including
reversing the decision, affirming it or sending it back to the agency for further
review. Appeals that would stretch the case out for a couple more years are
likely regardless of the outcome.
Judge say's Schaghticokes' evidence of political pressure raises questions
By Scott Ritter
A federal judge has ruled that the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation can pursue its
claim that political pressure scuttled its long-fought bid for federal
recognition.
In a decision last week, U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey of New Haven
said evidence offered by the Kent-based Schaghticokes “raises some questions
about whether there was improper political influence.†He granted the tribe
permission to further explore its claims.
The Interior Department first acknowledged the Schaghticokes as a legitimate
tribe in 2004, a designation that offered the promise of federal aid and the
possibility of gaming riches.
But the government's decision riled Connecticut's congressional delegation,
which feared the spread of casino gambling in the state. Just weeks later,
Gale Norton, then secretary of the Interior Department, was summoned to a
Capitol Hill conference room.
It was a “fairly emotional meeting,†Norton recalled in a recent deposition
cited in Dorsey's ruling. Those at the meeting included Rep. Christopher
Shays, R-4th District, and former Reps. Nancy Johnson, R-5th District, and Rob
Simmons, R-2nd District. Rep. Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican and an ardent
gambling foe, was also there.
“The members of Congress felt strongly that I should just stop this process,
stop letting any new gaming take place,†Norton said. “And I repeatedly had
to explain to them that that wasn't our role.â€
What happened next, attorneys for the tribe argue, was just one example of
the political pressure that would lead a top Interior official, Associate
Deputy Secretary James E. Cason, to reverse the recognition decision on May 12,
2005.
“Congressman Wolf said he would tell (President Bush) he thought I ought to
be fired,†Norton said.
•••••“The Schaghticoke are the first tribe in history to have had a
recognition decision taken away in this manner,†former Assistant U.S. Attorney
Thomas Murphy, a Schaghticoke attorney, told the court. “The existing record is
replete with suggestions that the reversal was improperly influenced by
well-lobbied political pressure.â€
But Connecticut lawmakers and the state's attorney general, Richard
Blumenthal, dismissed allegations of undue political influence.
“From all we know, these very far-fetched and apparently unfounded claims are
simply a smokescreen that this group is seeking to use in deflecting
attention from the (recognition) petition's main problem,†Blumenthal said. “There
is absolutely no basis ... for this group to meet the legal criteria for
recognition, and that fact ultimately will carry the day against them.â€
But the Schaghticokes, whose recognition bid is backed by Subway restaurant
chain founder Fred DeLuca, say their very existence as a tribal nation is at
stake.
“The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation believes there was a clear and deliberate
political effort to overturn our recognition in Washington,†the tribe's
longtime chief, Richard Velky, said in a statement. “We look forward to resolving
these issues and ultimately restoring our recognition.â€
Federal recognition would make the tribe eligible to receive aid for health
care, housing and education. It would also put the tribe on track to offer
casino gaming at some point in the future, possibly in Bridgeport.
•••••The Interior Department's recognition of the Schaghticoke tribe raised
a furor on Capitol Hill, and not just from Connecticut lawmakers. Interior
Department officials were subjected to “the wrath of congressional leadersâ€
during hearings before the House Government Reform Committee and the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs in 2004 and early 2005, attorneys for the tribe
said.
Cason and Norton have denied under oath that political pressure played a
role. But Dorsey last week ruled that the tribe could question two additional
Interior officials — Lee Fleming, the director of the Office of Federal
Acknowledgment, and David Bernhardt, then Norton's deputy chief of staff and the
department's primary liaison to Congress.
Both played key roles in the decision and attended the congressional hearings
or meetings with Connecticut lawmakers.
Dorsey also ruled that the high-powered Washington lobbying firm of Barbour,
Griffith & Rogers must turn over any communications it had with lawmakers
and Interior Department officials on behalf of its client, an anti-casino group
called Town Action to Save Kent.
E-mails from TASK and Barbour, Griffith “raise questions about the amount of
political influence at the agency level,†the judge wrote. He said tribal
lawyers would be allowed to question an official from the lobbying firm under
oath.
A Barbour, Griffith executive said in an affidavit that he was aware of only
one attempt to contact top Interior Department officials regarding the
Schaghticokes' recognition — a phone call that was never returned. Assistant U.S.
Attorney John B. Hughes told the court there was no evidence that the
recognition reversal “was impacted by improper influence or political pressure.â€
•••••Members of Connecticut's congressional delegation say their meeting
with Norton wasn't meant to win a reversal of the tribe's recognition, but
instead to raise concerns about the process and the possibility that casino
gambling could spread beyond the two tribal resorts in southeastern Connecticut.
“The idea of populating our state with very large casinos was a matter of
great concern to our citizens,†Simmons, the former eastern Connecticut
congressman, said. “When we inquired of the secretary on this very important
subject, I had the feeling that she wasn't paying much attention to us.â€
He said Wolf “was not making a threat in an effort to get or determine a
certain outcome; he simply wanted her to respond to our questions.â€
Norton, in her deposition, conceded that she “did not lose any sleep over the
threat†from Wolf.
Johnson said lawmakers wanted to make sure that recognition applications were
judged on their merits by officials “well versed in the law.â€
“I particularly wanted her to understand the impact that this would have on
people who have owned their land, in some cases in Kent, before the Revolution,
†Johnson said.
Lawmakers were also concerned that tribes were looking to use campaign
contributions to gain access to elected officials and the Interior Department's
Bureau of Indian Affairs, said Shays. “We told the BIA they needed to follow the
law and we'd hold them accountable if they didn't,†he said in a statement.
Dorsey could begin deliberating on briefs in the case this fall, attorneys
involved in the case said. The judge has a number of options, including
reversing the decision, affirming it or sending it back to the agency for further
review. Appeals that would stretch the case out for a couple more years are
likely regardless of the outcome.