10/30/2018

INTERIOR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. Interior Department’s acting inspector general has referred a probe into Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s conduct to the Justice Department for further investigation, media reports said on Tuesday [10-30-18], citing unnamed sources. Referring a probe to the Justice Department means it will explore whether evidence warrants a criminal investigation. Mary Kendall, the acting inspector general of the Interior Department, is conducting at least three probes into Zinke’s conduct, but it was not clear which one had been sent to the Justice Department, the Washington Post said…The Interior Department’s inspector general said in a letter to lawmakers in July that the office was investigating a Montana real estate deal involving a foundation set up by Zinke and a development group backed by the chairman of oil service company Halliburton Co. The letter said the inspector general had launched the probe on July 16 to look into a development deal in Zinke’s hometown of Whitefish, Montana, between a group funded by David Lesar, Halliburton’s chairman, and the foundation. The deal was first reported by Politico.”

Reuters, “Probe of U.S. Interior Secretary Zinke’s conduct referred to DOJ: reports,” Reuters, October 30, 2018 11:59 am