Probe on OIA details on-job politicking • DOI’s IG testifies in oversight hearing

WASHINGTON – Inspector General Earl E. Devaney for the Department of the Interior said that the results of his report show that David North, former public affairs specialist for the Office of Insular Affairs, spent a “large amount” of taxpayer time and money on political activities.

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chair of the House Resources Committee which held oversight hearing into alleged on-the-job political campaign by some Interior officials involving the CNMI Wednesday, asked Mr. Devaney if he had found any evidence that suggest that Mr. North’s superiors were aware of his political activities and if they had tried to stop them.

Mr. Devaney said that there were a number of memos back and forth that suggest that former OIA Director Allen P. Stayman and now Director Ferdinand Aranza were aware that these activities were going on.

With regard to asking Mr. North to stop his on the job political work, Mr. Devaney said that he found nothing and that when Mr. Aranza was interviewed he said that he told Mr. North to only “tone it down,” not to stop it.

Mr. Devaney said that this was the most “egregious” example of misconduct he has investigated in 30 years and was very “disappointed” that the Department of Justice refused to prosecute the case – a statement he made in response to a question posed by Rep. John Duncan (R-TN).

Mr. Devaney was asked if he was aware of any correspondence from the OIA to the Democratic National Congressional Committee (DNC). He specifically mentioned the Oct. 6, 1997 memo regarding former CNMI Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio’s loyalty to the Democratic Party.
During the question and answer section of Panel II, Reps. John Doolittle (R-Ca) and Bob Schaffer (R-Co) asked Mr. Stayman about this memo.

Mr. Stayman said that he didn’t believe that the memo was actually sent to the DNC – a statement contrary to his testimony to the Inspector General. Mr. Devaney said that there “is evidence that this memo was sent to the DNC” and that Mr. Stayman alluded to that fact during his testimony.

At the end of this exchange, the Majority Council chimed in and told the Mr. Stayman that it was a federal crime to give false testimony to a federal officer.

Rep. Doolittle asked the IG if any of Mr. North’s political activities had ever reached the intended parties, such as Democratic candidates, trade associations, human rights groups, and others.

Mr. Devaney said that there “is some evidence” that it reached the desired parties, but disclosed that he did not have this material with him at the hearing.

Reps. Doolittle and Schaffer also asked Mr. Aranza about former FBI Agent Goodwin’s email stating that US Attorney Black wanted to inform the House member delegation in Saipan that cooperation with the CNMI government was improving, but Mr. Aranza told US Attorney Black to stick to the Clinton administration’s position that the CNMI system was “broken and couldn’t be fixed.”

During the hearing, Mr. Aranza backtracked and said that the “immigration system” couldn’t be fixed.

Rep. Schaffer asked Mr. Stayman what he meant when he used the word “politicals” in the Oct. 6, 1997 memo on Gov. Tenorio — the famous memo from Mr. Stayman to the DNC telling them to disown Gov. Tenorio because he was “playing footsie” with his “Republican buddies.” Mr. Stayman tried to deny that the memo went out during the hearing.

Mr. Stayman was asked about the order from OIA to their representative on the CNMI to take “social pictures” of House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) while he was on the island.
Mr. Stayman said that the OIA wanted the pictures because they like to have photos of big events and Mr. DeLay attending the inaugural was one of them.

But Mr. DeLay was on the CNMI for New Year, not the inaugural in January 1998 for Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio’s administration. Mr. Stayman fumbled with this question and it came across as contrived, according to observers.

Rep. Schaffer also asked Mr. Stayman and Mr. Aranza if they thought it was “appropriate” to collect information on private companies, disseminate individuals’ Social Security numbers, and request investigative information from the Department of Labor, but neither had an adequate answer.

Mr. Schaffer then gave an example of a memo and draft press release from Mr. North, that was “OK’d” by Mr. Stayman, regarding the involvement of a North Carolina textile firm and the need to involve more US textile firms in the CNMI issue in an effort to bring more pressure to lawmakers.

Mr. Schaffer asked Mr. Stayman if he thought it was “appropriate” for a federal agency to draft press releases for private firms. Mr. Stayman did not give a sufficient answer, and Rep. Schaffer seemed both amused and irritated with his answer.

Mr. Schaffer also discussed the Preston Gates memo and asked how Mr. Aranza got a hold of it. The OIA director said that everybody (the press and people on Saipan) had a copy of it.

Mr. Schaffer then produced a copy of OIA’s liaison officer in the CNMI Jeff Schorr’s e-mail and asked if it was part of his job to collect this type of information. Mr. Aranza said that it was his job to “collect information.” Again, Rep. Schaffer was not pleased with Mr. Aranza’s answer.

Guam Delegate Robert Underwood brought up his concerns with the racist and derogatory tone toward the Chamorro people that Mr. North showed in several of his memos.

Mr. Schaffer also raised this subject in further detail later in the hearing and highlighted that Mr. Stayman had written a similar memo as well. In particular, one memo drafted by Mr. North actually went to a number of major news networks and suggested that, among others, the Chamorro people were incapable of educating their children and that mainlanders needed to be brought on the islands to do the job.

Rep. Schaffer said that the actions of Mr. North, Mr. Stayman and Mr. Aranza were clearly political and had a serious impact on the people and reputation of the CNMI. He also mentioned that this matter was not over.