Culture of Corruption: Another senior Bush official snared in Abramoff scandal

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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