Roll Call
November 1, 2005
J. Stephen Griles, the former deputy secretary of the Interior who has attracted intense scrutiny over his dealings with ex-GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, is set to testify before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Wednesday, according to a witness list for the hearing.
Griles, who left the Interior Department in January, was called by Indian Affairs Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) to appear before the committee to answer questions on the department’s actions on behalf of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, an Abramoff client, in a casino dispute with another tribe, the Jena Choctaws. McCain is investigating allegations of fraud perpetrated by Abramoff and his business partner, Michael Scanlon, against a half-dozen Indian tribes that paid them more than $80 million in a three-year period.
Griles is the highest-ranking Bush administration official to become publicly enmeshed in the Abramoff scandal, and his scheduled appearance on Wednesday surprised those who have been following the case. “This a big deal, a really big deal, if Griles testifies,” said a GOP source who has been interviewed by federal agents conducting their own Abramoff probe.
According to a memo circulated by the Indian Affairs Committee late Saturday night, “Documents in the Committee’s possession also raise a question of whether Mr. Abramoff had improper contact with senior Interior Department officials regarding tribal issues that were before the Department.”
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