Abramoff Scandal
Griles was also asked to testify before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in the 2005 investigation of the Abramoff scandal. Jack Abramoff's private emails indicated that Griles had pledged to use his authority to block a casino which Abramoff was lobbying against. Abramoff also indicated that he was interested in hiring Griles.
Furthermore, Griles was involved with donations made to Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, run by his then-girlfriend, Italia Federici. Donations were made to CREA by both Abramoff's tribal clients and by energy-sector companies with connections to Griles.
Upon leaving office, Griles joined with two other political veterans (former White House national energy policy director Andrew Lundquist and former House member George Nethercutt) to form the political lobbying firm of Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles, LLC.
On January 10, 2007, the United States Department of Justice notified Griles that charges would be brought against him for making false statements in his 2005 testimony. On that date Griles resigned from Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles. He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges on March 23, 2007. On June 8, 2007, Federici pleaded guilty to tax evasion and obstruction of justice.
On June 26 Griles was sentenced to a $30,000 fine and 10 months imprisonment, with some harsh words from Judge Ellen Huvelle, who doubled his prison sentence, telling the former second-ranking Interior Department official: "Even now, you continue to minimize and try to excuse your conduct."
Read more about this topic: J. Steven Griles
Famous quotes containing the word scandal:
“Gossip is charming! History is merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)