Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton target of corruption investigation

[marmar]

via Chicago Tribune:



Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton target of corruption investigation
Focus on oil-shale lease deals in Colorado


Keri Frei-Gomez, producer
KDVR Denver

4:21 p.m. CDT, September 17, 2009
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DENVER - Former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton is the focus of a federal corruption probe.

Reports say the Justice Department is investigating whether the former Bush Administration Interior Secretary used her position to benefit Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the company that later hired her as legal counsel.

The criminal investigation centers on the Interior Department's 2006 decision to award three lucrative oil shale leases on federal land in Colorado to the Shell subsidiary. Shell and Rand Corp. experts calculated the deal could net the company hundreds of billions of dollars over the years it would take to extract the oil.

Law enforcement and Interior officials say investigators will try to determine if Norton violated a law that prohibits federal employees from discussing employment with a company if they are involved in dealings with the government that could benefit the firm.

They say investigators will also try to determine if Norton broke a broader federal law. The "denial of honest services" law states that a government official can be prosecuted for violating the public trust. One example of such a violation would be steering government business to favored firms or friends.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/kdvr-norton-091709,0,7816947.story

[DCKit]

1. If all her violations of the Hatch act come to light, she's screwn. n/t