Griles pleads guilty in Abramoff case

March 23, 2007

The timing of this isn’t terribly convenient for the Bush White House. Just as the president and his team are arguing that administration officials would never lie to Congress and wouldn’t dream of preventing lawmakers from receiving the information they need to conduct a thorough investigation … Steven Griles pleads guilty to lying to Congress in order to impede a thorough investigation.

Former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles pleaded guilty Friday to obstruction of justice, becoming the ninth person and the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

The former No. 2 official in the Interior Department admitted in federal court that he lied to Senate investigators about his relationship with convicted lobbyist Abramoff, who repeatedly sought Griles’ intervention at the agency on behalf of Abramoff’s Indian tribal clients.

Griles pleaded guilty to a felony charge for testifying falsely before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Nov. 2, 2005, and during an earlier deposition with the panel’s investigators on October 20, 2005.

Griles said in a statement that he now realizes that when a Senate committee asks questions, “they must be answered fully and completely and it is not my place to decide whether those questions are relevant or too personal.” In court, he was asked: “Do you acknowledge that these were materially false statements about your relationship with Mr. Abramoff?” Griles replied, “Yes, your honor.”

Now, I realize that when it comes to the Bush administration, Republicans in DC, and Abramoff & Co., it can be challenging to remember which corrupt conservative did what to whom. So, here’s a primer on what Griles was up to.

After serving on Bush’s transition team, Griles, a former lobbyist, accepted a position as Bush’s Deputy Secretary of the Interior. (He also served on Cheney’s energy task-force.) Shortly after taking office, Griles was accused of doing what he does best — arranging favors for his former clients.

At the time, Griles was dating Italia Federici, who was running a conservative think tank after having served as an aide to then-Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton. Abramoff directed his clients to give big bucks to Federici think tank ($500,000), and in return, she arranged favors at Interior for Abramoff’s clients. Griles, Federici’s boyfriend and the second-highest-ranking political appointee at the agency, was particularly “helpful.”

When the Senate investigated all of this, Griles lied under oath. That’s a no-no.

Better yet, as ethics complaints started mounting, the Interior Department assigned an official to keep an eye on Griles, to make sure he didn’t get into too much trouble while Interior’s inspector general looked into his activities. The official was Sue Ellen Wooldridge, then the deputy chief of staff to Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

Griles then started dating Wooldridge, all the while doing favors for Abramoff’s clients. He lied to Congress about that, too, and now he’s going to jail.

It’s quite a colorful cast of characters Bush hired to staff his administration, isn’t it?

Kinda hard to convince people you have your drinking problem under control with a bottle of Jack Daniels behind your back.

  • Republicans will assert that he was only lying to cover up a sexual impropriety, ala Bill Clinton, in ten, nine, eight…

  • When the Senate investigated all of this, Griles lied under oath. That’s a no-no. — CB

    Three random thoughts….

    1) Given the slow motion of the legallprocess, I guess Repub Senate must have investigated it, in order for the case to have been brought to connclusion in court today. Whatever possessed them to act properly, for once? Will wonders never cease?
    2) A *very* timely reminder to the White House about the consequences of lying to the Senate; I hope they’ll take it to heart 🙂 My particular favourite was this quote from Griles:
    […] he now realizes that when a Senate committee asks questions, “they must be answered fully and completely and it is not my place to decide whether those questions are relevant or too personal.” Something for the White House to take to heart too.
    3) I no longer resent the possibility of Abramoff’s “time” being reduced. In fact, I think there ought to be a table of reductions: one day for each “small fry”, a week for each “medium fish”, etc that he helps take down.

  • No wonder the Bush administration conditions for staff testimony on the Hill are: in private, without a transcript and not under oath. Rove had a close brush with perjury and has a limited skill set in situations where truth is required.

  • Were you aware that the US attorney in Guam was replaced when Bush fired the 93 US attorneys at the beginning of his term. Frederick Black alleged that he was not re-nominated to the position because he called for an investigation to Abramoff.

    Two things caught my attention in this document. First, obviously, is that here is another allegation of firing for political reasons…here to cover-up a scandal investigation. (As a side note, the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General found no impropriety in this case. But was the OIG politically motivated??)

    Second, there is a paragraph on page 10 (Use the Find command, type in “Clinton era”), that refutes the idea that Clinton “fired all 93 US attorneys”. It states in this document that Frederick Black “had been appointed interim U.S. Attorney by George H.W. Bush”. So, obviously the Republican’t talking point is just…another…lie.

  • Good. He’s a convicted felon. Bet the little piece of fuck won’t have any difficulty landing a job, though. He’s nothing but another Bush Admin turd in the punchbowl. Thanks for ruining our country, traitor.

  • Abramoff has constantly conducted illegal activities financially supporting Bush and other Republicans since the 90’s. If you want a good example as to how, just completely research the Guam affair. Start with the firing of Black (the actual day being 11-19, after the grand jury issued subpoenas on 11-18 investigating Abramoff) through to how the payments from the Guam Superior Court were funneled through an attorney in Luguna Beach, CA. Then research the large amounts of “donations” made to the Bush Cheney campain from this same town shortly after the 36 checks began to be received ($9K each). This is how Abramoff, DeLay, Ney, and company would illegally set up clients (Indian tribes, etc.) and then get the money paid to influence laws, congress, etc., over to Bush and the “other Republicans”. It also is the basis as to who Rove would make sure what U.S. Attorney’s got to keep their jobs. Very simple really. We’re in the middle of an incredible injustice here in the U.S. involving our President, his party, the justice system, the FBI, and others. Research the truth, then tell others.

  • Stephen Griles reminds me of the Republican lawyer Clare started dating just before Nate died on “Six Feet Under,” only without the decency to accompany her to the hospital.

  • Kind of ironic how the Congress is being accused of doing nothing but investigations.

    The DOJ has been plenty busy too and in all probability would have been MUCH busier if Gonzo hadn’t corrupted the process.

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