A project dedicated to ensuring government officials follow the rules is reporting a pattern of ethical misconduct among senior members of the Department of the Interior (DOI).
Protect the Public's Trust (PPT), a federal watchdog, submitted a letter to Robert Anderson, DOI solicitor, reporting possible ethical violations by high-ranking officials in the Department. The group also filed ethics complaints with the DOI inspector general and submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for information about a related incident where political appointees allegedly permitted uninvited organizations to attend a Tribal consultation.
“A complaint filed by PPT against the deputy director of Policy and Programs at DOI's Bureau of Land Management, Nada Culver, resulted in an investigation by DOI's Inspector General. PPT alleged in the complaint that Culver violated ethics rules by participating in particular matters that involved her former employer, the Audubon Society,” according to Interior Newswire.
The watchdog organization filed a complaint against Deputy Solicitor Daniel Cordalis, the lead water attorney at the agency, in July, after Cordalis overturned a policy decision delivered by career lawyers in January.
The organization alleges that Cordalis' reversal cultivated a situation that could financially benefit a tribe that was Cordalis' former client.
“High-level leadership at the department apparently allowed unauthorized organizations to attend a Tribal consultation," U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said during a confirmation hearing for Laura Daniel-Davis, according to the letter from PPT.
