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DOI official to oversee stimulus disbursement
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Posted on Feb 23 2009
Reports surfaced yesterday that President Obama would appoint Earl Devaney, the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior, to oversee the $787 billion economic stimulus plan.
Devaney, who helped amass evidence against Jack Abramoff and his dealings at the Interior, will be the chairman of the new Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board, according to an administration official who spoke with the Associated Press. Vice President Joe Biden will also have a role coordinating the stimulus spending.
In 2000, Devaney testified before Congress that David North, former Public Affairs Specialist for DOI’s Office of Insular Affairs, and Allen Stayman, then director of the Office of Insular Affairs, had participated in misconduct stemming from a 1998 OIA report about alleged labor and immigration abuse in the CNMI.
Steven Griles, the deputy secretary of the Interior, pleaded guilty to charges he lied during congressional testimony, based in part on Devaney’s investigation related to Abramoff’s ties to Indian tribes.
In 2000, Gov. Benigno Fitial, then Speaker of the House, wrote to Devaney, requesting him to investigate the hiring practices of the Federal Ombudsman’s Office in the Northern Marianas.
Devaney, a former secret service agent, has been the Interior’s Inspector General—or in-house auditor—since 1999.
Devaney’s previous encounters with the CNMI will is a non-issue, said Charles Reyes, press secretary for the Governor’s Office. Devaney is familiar with the CNMI and pointing out legal issues, all the more reason to consider him fit for the job, he said.
