If you think you've been seeing an awful lot of stories lately about Bush Administration appointees being investigated, prosecuted, or jailed...well, you're right. Associated Press has released a list of Bush appointees who have left office in disgrace and/or are under investigation.
Below I've listed just the names and positions of the Fishy Fifteen. Take a look at the article for complete descriptions of each appointee's personal scandal. Some of them you've definitely heard of - others might come as new information.
- Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to VP Dick Cheney
- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
- Paul Wolfowitz, current president of the World Bank and former deputy Defense Secretary
- J. Steven Griles, former deputy Interior Secretary (Abramoff alert!)
- David Safavian, former OMB administrator
- Roger Stillwell, former Interior Department official who worked on Marianas Islands issues (Abramoff alert!)
- Sue Ellen Wooldridge, former Justice Department prosecutor
- Matteo Fontana, Department of Education official
- Claude Allen, former domestic policy adviser to the President
- Philip Cooney, former chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality
- Darleen Druyun, former Air Force procurement officer
- Eric Keroack, Deputy Assistant Secretary at HHS
- Lurita Doan, General Services Administration head
- Robert Cobb, NASA Inspector General
- Julie MacDonald, Fish and Wildlife Service head
Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, and Bob Ney may not be hogging the headlines these days as much as they were in 2006, but that doesn't mean the scandal is over with. Several government officials are still under investigation, and federal prosecutors have recently notified another one that he is a target of the Abramoff public corruption investigation.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet J. Steven Griles, former deputy secretary of the interior:
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that among the possible criminal charges being investigated is whether Griles made false statements to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in 2005 about job discussions Abramoff initiated while Griles was deputy secretary. Griles's attorneys did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.
Justice Department prosecutors met with Griles on Friday to outline possible charges. The investigation has examined donations made by Abramoff's Indian tribal clients to an environmental advocacy group run by Italia Federici, who was involved with Griles socially, the sources said. Also under scrutiny are donations made to Federici's group by energy and mining companies, the sources said.
This isn't the first time Federici's name has come up in the Abramoff scandal. She's been accused of accepting donations to her advocacy organization from Abramoff's clients in exchange for using her personal relationships with government officials, including Griles, to influence their decision-making. A good list of news articles detailing her involvement in the scandal can be found here.
But back to Griles...
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