Federal prosecutors contend he lied to investigators. The probe also looks at whether Zinke decided not to approve the casino due to outside lobbying. He denies the allegations.<\/p>\n
The Interior Department’s Office of the Inspector General recently commenced its own investigation into possible conflicts of interest involving Bernhardt. Government watchdogs say the 2018 meeting raises concerns.<\/p>\n
The secrecy and inconsistent explanations surrounding this meeting certainly raise questions about the propriety of Mr. Bernhardt’s activities,\u201d<\/strong> Daniel Stevens, executive director of the Washington, DC-based Campaign for Accountability, told Casino.org<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n“If this meeting was above-board and raised no ethical questions, why did Interior fail to disclose it on Mr. Bernhardt’s calendars?\u00a0 It’s alarming that the participants in the meeting gave inconsistent explanations for what was discussed,\u201d<\/strong> Stevens added.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe DOI also should provide more information \u201cto explain the apparent discrepancies and secrecy\u201d especially given that Zinke \u201cis under investigation for lying about his role in the matter,\u201d Stevens affirmed.<\/p>\n
Meeting on Federal Recognition<\/h2>\n
DOI spokesperson Faith Vander Voort has claimed the meeting between Kasowitz and Bernhardt was not related to the East Windsor casino, but rather dealt with the federal recognition of Schaghticoke tribe. But Schaghticoke Chief Richard Velky himself told The Guardian<\/em> that the meeting was about a lawsuit in Connecticut involving the East Windsor casino.<\/strong><\/p>\nBernhardt — who before working for the Trump administration was an oil industry lobbyist — also met with other lobbyists opposed to the venue, including Gale Norton, who represents MGM Resorts. Vander Voort told The Hill<\/em> that “the meeting with Norton was purely personal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The fact the meeting between Bernhardt and Kasowitz was not included on the calendar was \u201ca technical error,\u201d Vander Voort added.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nMGM was a client of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, a national law and lobbying firm, where Bernhardt worked before joining the Trump administration, according to HuffPost<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Continuing friction over Connecticut’s planned Tribal Winds Casino took a new twist this week with the revelation that Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary David Bernhardt held a private meeting last April with the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation’s attorney Marc Kasowitz. The latter group had attempted to block the gaming venue from opening. Even though the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":103280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
East Windsor Tribal Casino Controversy Ramps Up as Year-Old DOI Secret Meeting Surfaces - Casino.org East Windsor Tribal Casino Controversy Ramps Up as Year-Old DOI Secret Meeting Surfaces<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n