Ex-Cabinet deputy pleads guilty in Abramoff scandal

WASHINGTON -- Former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles on Friday became the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, pleading guilty to obstructing justice by lying to a Senate committee.

The former No. 2 official in the Interior Department admitted in federal court that he lied to investigators about his relationship with convicted lobbyist Abramoff, who repeatedly sought Griles' intervention on behalf of Indian tribal clients.

Griles, an oil and gas lobbyist who became an architect of President Bush's energy policies, is the ninth person convicted in a continuing Justice Department investigation. The government is actively investigating other public officials linked to Abramoff, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Abramoff's ties to at least three other current or former Republican lawmakers have come under scrutiny in the criminal inquiry: Rep. John Doolittle of California, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and former Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana. None of them has been charged; all have denied wrongdoing. One former House member, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, is serving a jail term on a guilty plea.

Griles pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstruction, admitting in a plea agreement that he lied in testimony before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Nov. 2, 2005, and during an earlier deposition with the panel's investigators on Oct. 20, 2005.

"I am sorry for my wrongdoing. I fully accept the responsibility for my conduct and the consequences it may have," he said in a statement. "When a Senate committee asks questions, they must be answered fully and completely and it is not my place to decide whether those questions are relevant or too personal."

Prosecutors recommended that Griles serve no more than a 10-month sentence -- the minimum they could seek under sentencing guidelines -- but only half of it in prison. The other five months would be in either a halfway house or under house arrest. The maximum sentence he could face is five years and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for June 26.

Griles acknowledged in court papers that he lied when he said his relationship with Abramoff wasn't unique. What was unique about it, he said in the court papers, was that Griles' then-girlfriend, Italia Federici, had introduced him to Abramoff.

The Justice Department says Federici's introduction gave Abramoff "more credibility as a lobbyist than Abramoff ordinarily would have had with Griles," quickly putting them on terms "that ordinarily would have taken years to develop."

Just two months ago, Griles faced the prospect of also being charged with fraud and criminal conflict of interest.

Earl Devaney, the Interior Department's inspector general, praised many Interior employees who he said told the truth about Griles during various investigations of him "sometimes at great risk to their own careers."

Barry Hartman, Griles' lawyer, said Griles did nothing improper for Abramoff and the government's investigation confirmed that Griles never took anything of value from "Abramoff or any other lobbyist, be it a drink, a meal, a sports ticket or a trip to Scotland."

Second in rank to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Griles effectively was Interior's chief operating officer while at the agency between July 2001 and January 2005, and its top representative on Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force.

In government papers, Griles acknowledged that he obstructed the Senate committee's investigation into Abramoff and his associates' dealings with Indian casino clients.

Abramoff persuaded his Indian clients to pay him tens of millions of dollars to influence decisions in Congress and the Interior Department. Part of his pitch to clients was that he had serious pull at the department, especially with Griles.

Some Others Caught Up In The Abramoff Affair

Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, sentenced in January to 2 1/2 years in prison, acknowledged taking bribes from Abramoff. Ney was in the traveling party on the Abramoff-sponsored golfing trip to Scotland that was at the heart of the case against former White House official David Safavian.

Abramoff is serving six years in prison on a criminal case out of Florida, where he pleaded guilty in January 2006 to charges of conspiracy, honest services fraud and tax evasion. He has not yet been sentenced on charges of mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion stemming from the influence-peddling scandal in Washington. Abramoff is cooperating in a bribery investigation involving lawmakers, their aides and members of the Bush administration.

Tony Rudy, lobbyist and onetime aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, pleaded guilty in March 2006 to conspiring with Abramoff. He is cooperating with investigators.

Safavian, the Bush administration's former top procurement official and a former chief of staff for the General Services Administration, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October after he was found guilty in June 2006 of covering up his dealings with Abramoff.

Michael Scanlon, a former Abramoff business partner and DeLay aide, pleaded guilty in November 2005 to conspiring to bribe public officials in connection with his lobbying work. He is cooperating with investigators.

Neil Volz, a former chief of staff to Ney who left government to work for Abramoff, pleaded guilty in May 2006 to conspiring to corrupt Ney and others with trips and other aid.