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Cobell v Norton

This is a class action suit against the federal government regarding mismanagement of IIM [Individual Indian Monies] trust accounts.
COBELL V NORTON UPDATES FROM 12/10/2001 THRU 2002

This Site first became aware of this IMPORTANT lawsuit (for everyone) when an email with the following article arrived the first of March, 2001. Updates from 3/15/2001 through 10/21/2001
12/26/2001
WEBMASTER OF THIS SITE HAS BEEN INCAPACITATED FOR LAST TWO MONTHS, DUE TO PAIN FROM SHOULDER AND BACK INJURY. TOO MANY DEVELOPMENTS IN COBELL V NORTON CASE TO UPDATE ALL. STARTING BACK WITH BEGINNING OF NORTON CONTEMPT TRIAL, DECEMBER 10.

*All Press Releases and Articles have been sent by and are posted at www.indiantrust.com .


NORTON CONTEMPT TRIAL OPENED DEC. 10 with testimony that quarterly reports to Judge painted false picture on Trust Reform

NORTON TRIAL: Thompson's testimony cont.
12/11/2001. WASHINGTON, D.C. - INTERIOR STALLED ON INDIVIDUAL TRUST REFORM EFFORTS, HOPING JUDGE'S ORDER WOULD BE REJECTED ON APPEAL

NORTON TRIAL: Thompson's testimony cont.
12/12/2001. WASHINGTON, D.C. - TRUST OFFICIAL BACKS COURT MONITOR'S FINDINGS THAT INTERIOR SKIRTED JUDGE'S ORDER ON IIM ACCOUNTS

NORTON TRIAL: Thompson's testimony cont.
12/13/2001. WASHINGTON, D.C. - INTERIOR, JUSTICE LAWYERS MASSAGED REPORTS TO JUDGE TO HIDE NON-COMPLIANCE ON INDIVIDUAL INDIAN TRUST

NORTON TRIAL: PLAINTIFFS WILL SEEK PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
12/14/2001. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Thompson testimony continued today and attorney for Indian plaintiffs will file papers this weekend asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction that would force the Interior Department to distribute trust checks immediately and impose court supervision of its computer operations.

NORTON TRIAL: JUDGE ISSUES INJUNCTION
12/17/2001. WASHINGTON, D.C. - JUDGE ALLOWS INTERIOR TO RE-START COMPUTER SYSTEMS UNDER STRICT SUPERVISION OF COURT WATCHDOG
Interior Department allowed to re-start its computer systems and start issuing checks to 43,000 Individual Indian Monies (IIM) beneficiaries, after the department agreed to strict oversight of its information technology operations by a court-appointed Special Master. In a separate order today, Lamberth required Interior Secretary Gale Norton to personally sign all future quarterly reports to the Court.

NORTON TRIAL: WEB ALERT
12/18/2001. WASHINGTON, D.C. - COBELL PLAINTIFFS ASK COURT TO ACCEPT COURT MONITOR'S CRITICAL REPORTS AS EVIDENCE.
Testimony of first witness, senior trust official Thomas M. Thompson, continues.

NORTON TRIAL: EIGHTH DAY OF TRIAL
12/19/2001. WASHINGTON, D.C. - SENIOR TRUST OFFICIAL VOUCHES FOR REPORT'S ACCURACY ON FAILURE OF $33 MILLION IIM COMPUTER SYSTEM
Judge Wasn't Told by Interior That TAAMS Was Flunking Tests
Lamberth has made it clear he is looking for ways to speed up the trial, which has been slowed to a crawl by 200 pages of government objections to Kieffer's findings.

NORTON TRIAL: JUDGE LAMBERTH MISLED
12/21/2001. WASHINGTON, D.C. - QUARTERLY REPORTS FROM MARCH 2000 TO THE PRESENT HAVE MISLED JUDGE ON TRUST REFORM PROGRESS
False information in the reports is a key element of contempt charges against Norton and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb.

NORTON TRIAL: resumed on January 4, 2002
1/07/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. - COBELL PLAINTIFFS ASK JUDGE TO ORDER NORTON TO ISSUE IIM TRUST CHECKS IMMEDIATELY . . . . end a month of foot-dragging and issue payments to Individual Indian Monies (IIM) trust beneficiaries immediately, "in light of extremely troubling evidence that has recently come to light."

NORTON TRIAL: Special Trustee Thomas N. Slonaker testifies
1/08/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Thomas N. Slonaker, the senior official entrusted by Congress with overseeing reform of the Individual Indian Monies (IIM) trust, told a federal judge today that two Interior Department Secretaries and their top aides filed misleading reports with the court and did virtually nothing in the past two years to comply with orders from Congress and the judge . . . . . .

JUDGE SUGGESTS GAME-PLAYING BY INTERIOR MAY BE BEHIND INTERNET SHUTDOWN
1/09/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal judge hearing contempt charges against Interior Secretary Gale Norton suggested today that her department's slow pace in reconnecting its web sites to the Internet and issuing overdue checks to 43,000 individual Indian trust beneficiaries may be due to a case of "Washington Monument syndrome."

NORTON TRIAL: 15th Day
1/09/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Daryl White, the Chief Information Officer at Interior since March 1998 testified today that he played only an advisory, oversight role in the development of a $36 million trust data computer system that does not work and that an Interior consultant has recently recommended should be scrapped.
White's testimony marked the completion of the case by the Cobell plaintiffs.

JUDGE SUGGESTS TRUST PLAINTIFFS CALL NORTON AS WITNESS TO GET ANSWERS ON INTERIOR'S HISTORICAL ACCOUNTING FAILURE
1/14/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. - The judge presiding over the contempt trial for Interior Secretary Gale Norton suggested today that Indian trust plaintiffs will have to call Norton to the witness stand if they want to extract answers about why she embraced a Clinton administration plan for statistical sampling shortly after taking office in February 2001.

REPORT ON NORTON'S FAILURE TO SAFEGUARD TRUST DATA IS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO HOLD HER IN CONTEMPT, JUDGE SAYS
1/15/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Burden Will Be on the Secretary to Show Why She Should Not Be Sanctioned for Ignoring Internet Security Issues

ARIZONA REPUBLIC EDITORIAL
1/16/2002. Feds are flunking on Indian trust funds
Let financial pros unravel the mess
. . . "the accounts make Enron look like a model of good bookkeeping" . . .

Indianz.Com Article
1/17/2002. In a July report addressed to Norton, Congressional investigators told her that the information technology systems at Interior's financial center in Denver, Colorado, suffered from several vulnerabilities. Although attempts were made to fix known deficiencies, the General Accounting Office (GAO) still found numerous problems, including the inability to detect intrusions, lack of sufficient access control measures, poorly configured software, weak password protections and the lack of a contingency plan. (more details in article)

NORTON TRIAL: WEB ALERT
2/01/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. Court Monitor Joseph S. Kieffer III issued two new reports today, . . . . . . raising numerous questions about the future of trust reform under Secretary Gale Norton.

NORTON TRIAL: Press Release
2/05/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal judge sharply criticized Interior Secretary Gale Norton today for a "totally improper" attempt to circumvent a court order sealing the personal financial data of Indians who are challenging Norton in court over mismanagement of the Individual Indian Monies (IIM) trust.

NORTON TRIAL: Press Release
2/06/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in class action litigation to force reform of the failed Individual Indian Monies (IIM) trust, called on Congress today to support placing the trust in temporary, court-supervised receivership until more than a century of government mismanagement and neglect can be overhauled.

NORTON TRIAL: Press Release
2/11/2002. NORTON FACES QUESTIONING ON CONTEMPT CHARGES FOR FAILURES AS TRUSTEE FOR MISMANAGED IIM TRUST
WASHINGTON, D.C. Interior Secretary Gale Norton will take the witness stand at 10 a.m. Wednesday in federal court here, facing serious questions by lawyers for individual Indian trust account holders about mismanagement of their funds and her failure to live up to her fiduciary obligations as trustee for the Individual Indian Monies (IIM) trust.

NORTON TRIAL: Press Release
2/13/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s testimony makes the case that a federal judge should remove the trust from Interior’s control and place it in the hands of a receiver. - Next hearing in the contempt proceeding set for Feb. 20.

WEB ALERT
2/15/2002. The Cobell plaintiffs have filed a new motion with the court asking that the Secretaries of Interior and Treasury be found in contempt for suppressing evidence and advancing legal arguments that they knew to be false.
The plaintiffs’ motion is posted at www.indiantrust.com.

2/20/2002. Just posted at www.indiantrust.com :
Transcripts of Secretary Norton's contempt trial.
Click on Transcripts, then click on Contempt Trials.

PRESS RELEASE
2/21/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. – "You Were Duped. The Plaintiffs Were Smoked."
The Cobell plaintiffs argued today that a federal judge should do "whatever this court needs to do to end this nightmare" . . . . .

ST. PETERSBURG (FLA.) TIMES EDITORIAL
3/07/2002. New steps needed for Indian trust
The federal courts have waited long enough for the U.S. government to sort out its sorry management of the American Indian trust fund system.    . . . . . call for the job to be taken from the Interior Department and given to a court-appointed receiver.

PRESS RELEASE
3/15/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. – JUDGE CHASTISES INTERIOR FOR FOOT-DRAGGING ON IIM CHECKS; COURT READY TO MOVE FORWARD ON CONTEMPT FOR 39 MORE.
Indian trust beneficiaries depend on the leasing fees and royalties from Indian-owned lands for basic necessities of life.

PRESS RELEASE
3/21/2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. – COBELL PLAINTIFFS SEEK CONTEMPT SANCTIONS FOR WHOLESALE DESTRUCTION OF EVIDENCE
The Cobell plaintiffs asked a federal judge today for additional contempt sanctions against Interior Secretary Gale Norton and senior Interior and Justice Department lawyers for destroying evidence in the Cobell case and covering up the destruction.

A MATTER OF TRUST:
3/22/2002. The Case of Cobell v. Norton Symposium to be held March 26, 2002 at Gonzaga University Law School, 721 N. Cincinnati, Spokane, Washington. For further information, please contact Bonnie White, Gonzaga University School of Law, at 509-323-5791. Click above for details of Symposium.

Washington Post
3/30/2002.   WASHINGTON, D.C. –
U.S. Is Penalized by Judge In Indian Trust Fund Case.
Government Is Told to Pay for Using Delay Tactics.
By Neely Tucker, Washington Post Staff Writer

WEB ALERT
5/06/2002. The http://www.indiantrust.com/ web alert service has been restored. We regret any inconvenience this has caused and have included links to significant documents that you may have missed in the past month.

WEB ALERT
5/28/2002. This morning the Court Monitor sent a letter to Department of Justice counsel Sandra Spooner and informed her that if she objects to his investigation she may bring those objections to the Court. History and links to documents at www.indiantrust.com in this Web Alert.

Cobell v Norton - Update
6/04/2002. On Tuesday June 4, 2002, plaintiffs filed a motion with the Court to have Treasury Secretary O'Neill and Interior Secretary Norton and responsible employees and counsel held in contempt of court for perpetrating another fraud upon the Court.

Cobell v Norton
7/04/2002. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Proposed Interior Accounting Plan is Insufficient to Individual Indian Trust Account Holders
Location: Washington, DC. Date: July 3. 2002
Today, the US Department of Interior released a 110 page report to Congress on the Historical Accounting of Individual Indian Money Accounts. . . . . . .

Cobell v Norton Web Alert
7/11/2002. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHITE HOUSE ASKS CONGRESS TO SHIELD ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS FROM PENALTIES FOR BREACH OF TRUST AND DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION Click above link for full story.

Cobell v Norton Update
7/11/2002. Eighth Report of the Court Monitor
The Eighth Report of the Court Monitor was released this afternoon. Please go to http://www.indiantrust.com/ to view the entire report. Email we received listing his most relevant conclusions is posted at above Update link.

Congressional Native American Caucus Announces
7/17/2002.  U.S. REPRESENTATIVES DALE E. KILDEE AND J.D. HAYWORTH, CO-CHAIRS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN CAUCUS, ANNOUNCE THAT THE HOUSE VOTED TODAY TO STRIKE TWO ANTI-INDIAN PROVISIONS IN THE FY 2003 INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS BILL.
Please share this Release.

Cobell v. Norton Web Alert
7/17/2002.  Today the United States House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to strike language proposed by Secretary Norton and the White House that sought to undermine the Cobell v. Norton litigation and limit the Court-ordered accounting. The striken language sought: (read Alert for additional information)

Cobell v. Norton Web Alert
7/23/2002.  Plaintiffs in the multi-billion dollar Cobell v. Norton trust litigation filed the first in a series of bills of particulars against government officials who are the subject of pending contempt charges. The filing seeks to hold former Deputy Solicitor Edward Cohen in criminal contempt for destroying massive quantities of trust records that U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered produced.

[NOTE: 7/30/2002 through 8/16/2002 posted on 8/21/2002. Webmaster on vacation.]

Cobell v. Norton Web Alert
7/30/2002.   Last night, the Cobell plaintiffs filed their second in a series of at least 50 individual Bills of Particulars in accordance with the March 15, 2002 instructions of Judge Lamberth to clarify the misconduct of . . . .

Cobell v. Norton Web Alert
8/01/2002.   This afternoon, plaintiffs requested that the Court Monitor investigate the White House counsel, Office of Management and Budget and Department of Justice attorneys who aided Secretary Norton and Deputy Secretary Griles in compelling Tom Slonaker to resign his position as Special Trustee for American Indians and suppressing his testimony before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. (Above link goes to pdf file of letter at www.indiantrust.com)

Cobell v. Norton Web Alert
8/02/2002.   Plaintiffs have posted two letters from Senator John McCain.

Inspector General Report
8/06/2002.   Posted at indiantrust.com ". . . finally, protect the public interests for which the Department is responsible, in this case those of the Individual Indian Trust accountholders."

Cobell v. Norton Web Alert
8/16/2002.   Elouise Cobell To Visit Oklahoma and Discuss Trust Funds Litigation with individual Indian trust beneficiaries, on August 21 and August 22, 2002.

Cobell v. Norton Web Alert
9/17/2002.   Court finds that Secretary Norton and Assistant Secretary McCaleb committed 4 counts of fraud and held them in civil contempt. Further, the Court found that Norton and McCaleb engaged in litigation misconduct by failing to initiate the accounting ordered by this Court.

We did not receive updates in email for 6 months - reason unknown.

Cobell v Norton - Court Memorandum and Order
03/06/03. Court has denied defendants' motion to curtail the authority of the Special Master-Monitor in Cobell v. Norton.

Cobell v Norton - Court Memorandum and Order
03/12/03. Court sanctions defendants again for deliberately submitting a false affidavit to defraud the Court and plaintiffs that the General Accounting Office conducted historical accountings of individual Indian trust assets when they, in fact, maintained that they had never conducted an accounting of any individual Indian trust assets.


YOU CAN HELP

All Press Releases, plaintiffs' motions, Statement of Facts, and newspaper articles are posted at www.indiantrust.com


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