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Ex-Deputy of Interior Dept. Pleads Guilty

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
March 23, 2007

WASHINGTON, March 23 -- J. Steven Griles, the second-highest official at the Interior Department during President Bush's first term, pleaded guilty today to obstruction of justice and lying about his ties to Jack Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist who obtained help from the Interior Department for his Indian tribal clients.

Mr. Griles, 59, the Deputy Secretary of the Interior under Gale N. Norton from 2001 to 2004, was a high-profile lobbyist for oil and gas companies before joining the Bush administration. Once in office, he came under scrutiny for continuing contacts with his former industry clients, and then for his relationship with Mr. Abramoff. After leaving the Interior Department, he resumed his former career as a lobbyist.

Mr. Abramoff, who pled guilty to charges that stemmed from his lobbying activities, is now in prison. He has cooperated extensively with investigators.

Mr. Griles agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of lying to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Nov. 2, 2005, when he said that he had no special relationship with Mr. Abramoff.

What we're wondering is how this prosecution ever happened; why didn't the Patriotic Knights at the White House and the Justice Department stop this "partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants"?

More importantly, why weren't the U.S. attorneys who pursued this matter busy doing real work -- like looking for "Democratic Party voter fraud" in places where Republicans lost elections?