Former Dep. Secretary of Interior to Plead Guilty
Even as Jack Abramoff hopes to be rewarded for helping the government prosecute his cohorts, the Justice Department announced that Steven Griles, the former Deputy Secretary of the Interior Department, will plead guilty to a single count of obstructing justice in connection with the Abramoff investigation.
The former No. 2 official at the Interior Department has agreed to a felony plea admitting that he lied five times to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and its investigators about his relationship with Abramoff, people involved in the case told the AP. Griles will admit in federal court Friday that he concealed that he had a unique relationship with Abramoff, people involved in the case said on condition of anonymity, because a federal judge had not yet approved the plea deal.
The government will ask for no more than the minimum guideline sentence of 10 months, half of which can be served at home. This seems a sweet deal for Griles, considering that prosecutors are dropping allegations that Griles used his position to help Abramoff
Prosecutors in January had outlined other possible charges against Griles. They included "honest services" fraud, based on his meetings with Abramoff; lying to Congress about information favorable to Abramoff that Griles had passed on to other Interior officials; and lying to Congress and criminal conflict of interest over a job that Abramoff had offered to Griles.
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