Another Bush cohort paying for his sins

How many Bush appointees and/or campaign contributors and/or political associates are now serving jail sentences? I haven't done an accounting lately. Anybody out there keeping a tally? If so, let us know — names and sentence — and we'll post it.

The following article refers to J. Steven Griles, who as the Interior Department's No. 2 official — and number one environmental hit man — tried to single-handedly gut nearly every environmental protection enacted by Congress and put in play by the Executive Branch in the last half century.

Ya don't mess with Mother Nature, and even if she doesn't push back immediately, at least she has lots of friends working on her behalf.

Oh, and by the way, Griles is also an associate of our dear vice president. Anybody surprised?

Ex-Interior official's sentence doubled

By MATT APUZZO, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A federal judge chastised the Interior Department's former No. 2 official and doubled his proposed prison term to 10 months Tuesday for lying to senators in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and making excuses about it in court.

J. Steven Griles was the department's deputy secretary and is the highest administration official sentenced in the probe. He pleaded guilty to obstructing a congressional investigation, but on Tuesday his lawyers tried to deflect blame for his faulty testimony.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle was not pleased.

"Even now you continue to minimize and try to excuse your conduct," she told Griles before doubling the five-month prison term he and prosecutors had agreed on. She also fined him $30,000.

Griles admitted to lying to Senate investigators about his relationship with Abramoff, the central figure in a corruption investigation that has led to convictions of a former congressman, legislative aides, lobbyists and officials in the Bush administration.

Second in rank only to then-Secretary Gale Norton, Griles effectively was Interior's chief operating officer between 2001 and 2005 and its top representative on Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force.

More here. See also the article below.