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theweaselkingA federal judge has given Interior Secretary Gale Norton an ultimatum: Either appear in his court or face the prospect that he'll rule against her on an accusation that she retaliated against American Indians suing her agency for lost royalties.
Last October, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth found Norton acted as if her department's Bureau of Indian Affairs had to end all contact with Indians about land sales and account statements to comply with an earlier order from him. Whether that included stopping payments to Indians is in dispute.
"What is clear is that the secretary, in a fit of pique and perhaps anger ... simply retaliated against the Indian beneficiaries under the thin disguise of a preposterous and facially false 'interpretation' of the court's order," he wrote.
Last October, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth found Norton acted as if her department's Bureau of Indian Affairs had to end all contact with Indians about land sales and account statements to comply with an earlier order from him. Whether that included stopping payments to Indians is in dispute.
"What is clear is that the secretary, in a fit of pique and perhaps anger ... simply retaliated against the Indian beneficiaries under the thin disguise of a preposterous and facially false 'interpretation' of the court's order," he wrote.