Investigators at the Justice Department are looking into whether former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to his agency’s inspector general, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing three unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Zinke recently resigned amid a series of probes into his actions as secretary, one of which has reportedly been the subject of DOJ scrutiny.
The Post listed two probes still ongoing, one involving a real estate deal between Halliburton chairman David Lesar and a foundation Zinke started. Zinke’s foundation allowed land previously donated for the construction of a Veterans Peace Park to instead be used as a parking lot for a retail project in which Lesar is an investor, and which could directly and indirectly benefit Zinke and his wife Lola.
The other involves two Native American tribes in Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan, who jointly sought the Interior Department’s approval for a casino project 12 miles away from MGM Springfield. After Zinke met with lobbyists and legislators allied with MGM, Interior denied the tribes’ request. The tribes subsequently sued.
The Post reported: “It was not clear precisely what Zinke is thought to have lied about, but people familiar with the matter said it was not about a land deal [with Lesar].”
A spokesperson for Zinke told the Post he’d participated in two inspector general interviews regarding the casino matter.
