Subpoenas issued in probe of ex-Interior secretary Gale Norton

By GottaLaff

A grand jury is investigating whether former Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton violated federal laws before going to work for Shell.
(Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated Press / March 20, 2006)

BushCo just can't seem to avoid the wrong kind of spotlight. Legal problems chase them the way Mark Sanford chases Argentinian lovers:

A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records from Royal Dutch Shell PLC as part of a Justice Department investigation into corruption allegations against former Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton, according to sources close to the investigation.

The subpoenas and the inclusion of a grand jury are signs of escalation in the investigation, which focuses on whether Norton violated a federal law barring government officials from overseeing any process that could financially benefit a company that the official is negotiating with for future employment.

Investigators are also examining whether Norton broke a broader federal law that bars government officials from denying "honest services" -- violating the public trust by, for example, steering government business to favored firms or friends.

Cronyism? A Bushie? Never! Never, I say!

Okay, sometimes.

Okay, often.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Norton was discussing future employment with Shell before she stepped down as Interior secretary in March 2006, when she was in charge of a process that resulted in Shell winning three lucrative leases to research and develop oil shale projects on federal land in Colorado.

Big Oil's involved, too! Who could ask for more?

Nine months after resigning, Norton accepted a job in a Shell division that includes its oil shale efforts.

I may not be a pro, but my sharp, insightful, white hot instincts tell me she shouldn't have done that.

Shell received three of the six leases the Interior Department issued as part of a Bush administration effort to unlock the Mountain West's vast resources of oil shale -- rocks that release liquid petroleum when heated to extreme temperatures -- for commercial development.

Combined, those leases could bring Shell hundreds of billions of dollars' profit at today's oil prices, according to analyses by Shell and a Rand Corp. expert.

Now, now, let's not be hasty. I'm sure it's all some kind of innocent misunderstanding... just as the non-existent WMD in Iraq were. Yeah, that's it.

Bush SEC Holdovers Cite Exec Privilege In Stonewalling Congress About Madoff Scandal

Seems some fun stuff happened today in the Congressional hearings (skip to about 5:15). Another little tidbit from the whistleblower testmony-

A bombshell is buried in Harry Markopolos' prepared testimony to a House panel today: he contacted the Wall Street Journal on the Bernie Madoff fraud three years ago, and the newspaper did nothing.

I feel for the WSJ, it's never easy to admit your buddies are crooks.