Reuters Wire | 09/17/2002 | U.S. Interior Secretary Norton Ruled in Contempt

Personally, I've always held Gale Norton in contempt.

Anyway, Gale the Destroyer failed to comply with a court order to fix "oversight problems with American Indian trust funds". The problem goes back to at least 1996; Bruce Babbitt and Robert Rubin were held in contempt in 1999.

But instead, he found that the department did "virtually nothing" and said the department has "indisputably proven" that it is either unwilling or unable to competently administer the Individual Indian Money trust.

This isn't anything new, of course. The Bush/Norton Interior Department has been marked most strongly by its refusal to do anything other than cater to ranching and farming interests. This isn't the first time Norton has refused to comply with court orders; it's been going on in relation to the Endangered Species Act since she took office. Failing to comply with court orders is what Gale Norton does. It's probably her mandate.