Watchdog: Ex-Interior head Zinke lied during casino probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Interior secretary Ryan Zinke lied to investigators about conversations he had with lobbyists, lawmakers and other officials regarding a bid by two Indian tribes to operate a casino in Connecticut, the department’s internal watchdog said Wednesday.

Zinke, now the Republican nominee for a new House seat in western Montana, made statements to investigators "with the overall intent to mislead them,'' a report by Inspector General Mark Greenblatt said.

Both Zinke and his former chief of staff, Scott Hommel, “presented an inaccurate version of the circumstances in which (Interior) made key decisions” on the casino project, the report said. “As a result, we concluded that Secretary Zinke and (Hommel) did not comply with their duty of candor when questioned.”

Zinke's campaign could not immediately be reached for comment. But a letter from Zinke’s attorney, included in the report, said the finding that Zinke lacked candor was "wrong and without merit.''

In comments to investigators, Zinke called the report's timing — less than three months before the November election — “disturbing and improper.'' He asked that the report's release be delayed until after the election, a request Greenblatt denied.

In an Aug. 3 letter from the law firm Schertler, Onorato, Mead & Sears, Zinke's attorney called the IG's report “distorted and misleading” and said it "fails to clarify that Secretary Zinke did no adopt the position of any lobbyist for or against the (casino) project.'' The lawyer's name is redacted in the IG report.

Zinke was accused of acting improperly on a request by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes in Connecticut to open a casino on non-tribal land in East Windsor, Connecticut. The request required federal approval. The proposed site was...