News
Federal report: Zinke violated ‘duty of candor’
Published
2 years agoon
Posted By
AdminThe Interior Department’s inspector general found that Zinke misrepresented his communications with lobbyists and others leading up to a decision on a tribal gaming compact in Connecticut
By Arren Kimbel-Sannit MONTANA FREE PRESS
A federal ethics probe has concluded that former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, who is running to represent Montana’s western district in the U.S. House, misled an internal ethics watchdog during a probe into the department’s decision not to act on a gaming application from two Native American tribes.
The report, instigated in 2017 and released Wednesday by investigators working under Trump-appointed Interior Secretary Inspector General Mark Greenblatt, said Zinke and his then-chief of staff made statements to investigators “with the overall intent to mislead them,” violating their “duty of candor.”
The probe stemmed from a joint application by two New England tribes, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan, to open a casino on non-tribal land in Connecticut, a move that would require Interior’s approval under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In 2018, Politico reported that the department had initially intended to approve the application but reversed course on the eve of a deadline to act after a concerted lobbying effort by casino giant MGM Resorts International against the project.
The department has since allowed the casino development to move forward, clearing up litigation from one of the tribes alleging that the department’s decision not to approve the project was based on political considerations.
The probe’s report found that Zinke misrepresented who had access to his ear leading up to his decision on the application for a new gaming compact, including lobbyists, consultants and former U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, a Republican from Nevada, all of whom urged the secretary against approving the proposal. MGM, at the time, was pursuing its own casino in Massachusetts, and lobbyists for the company expressed concern in emails that federal approval of a tribal-owned, off-reservation casino would establish an unwelcome precedent.
“During his first interview with the OIG, Secretary Zinke stated he had not spoken about the specifics of the Tribes’ amendments with Casino lobbyists,” the report reads in part. “Extensive evidence, however, showed that [a lobbyist] engaged [a consultant] specifically to convey Casino’s concerns about approving the Tribes’ amendments to Secretary Zinke and that Casino lobbyists spoke to Secretary Zinke directly about Casino’s position on multiple occasions, including the day before the DOI issued its letters in September 2017.”
In a response to a draft version of Wednesday’s report, attorneys for Zinke, a Republican, disagreed with the findings and implored OIG not to issue the report until after the November election.
“To do otherwise, would insert the findings of this stale and inaccurate investigative report into the electoral process and could prejudice Secretary Zinke,” Zinke’s attorneys wrote in their response, which is attached as an addendum to the report.
Zinke, who formerly represented Montana’s at-large congressional district before his appointment in the Trump administration, is hoping Montana voters again elect him to the U.S. House in November, this time to the state’s newly created western district. His main opponent is Democratic energy attorney Monica Tranel.
“This is another investigation by a Trump-hired Inspector General that found Ryan Zinke lied to cover up his wrongdoings,” Tranel said in a statement.
Zinke resigned from the Trump administration in January 2019 while this and several other ethics probes were underway. In February, the Interior Department’s inspector general released a separate report that found Zinke similarly misled investigators about his role in a Whitefish land deal while secretary.
Wednesday’s report details the process by which Zinke arrived at the decision to return the application to the tribes without action under the argument that it was not Interior’s role to approve a tribal gaming project on non-reservation land. Investigators did not probe the merits — legal or otherwise — of the decision itself, but rather whether Zinke accurately represented the influences under which he made the decision.
Zinke told investigators that he made his decision in consultation with Interior staff and attorneys, without influence from lobbyists or other actors outside the department, and that he felt all along that the matter was not within the department’s jurisdiction, since the casino would not be located on reservation trust land.
“Secretary Zinke repeatedly told the Inspector General that he was not subject to any influence in that matter because he lacked jurisdiction to act on the application,” Danny C. Onorato, an attorney for Zinke, told Montana Free Press. “That should have ended the inquiry.”
Based on records and interviews with Zinke, his staff and others, though, the probe concluded that Zinke and his chief of staff had multiple communications and meetings with MGM lobbyists, consultants and members of Nevada’s federal delegation working to halt the casino proposal. Those meetings were not accurately represented to investigators, according to the report. Furthermore, it suggested that the department’s own attorneys did not recommend Zinke’s course of action.
The U.S. Department of Justice declined to launch a prosecution based on the probe last year. It’s now in the hands of the current Interior administration, which had no comment to MTFP on the matter Wednesday.
“We are providing this report to the current Secretary of the Interior for any action deemed appropriate,” the report says.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
Time
(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716