Over the last year, the Navajo Nation Council has been investigating what happened to $24 million in federal COVID relief funds allocated for the now-defunct ZenniHome, a failed housing initiative at the Navajo Generating Station.
And a weeklong investigatory hearing on the subject kicked off with a slow start on Monday — when subpoenaed witnesses failed to show up on the advice of the tribe’s justice department.
Acting Attorney General Kris Beecher, former chief of staff Patrick Sandoval, chief legal counsel Bidtah Becker and President Buu Nygren are among those dozen or so key witnesses subpoenaed by Speaker Crystalyne Curley.
The Navajo Nation DOJ sent a same-day memo advising all government employees to not attend or testify during this week’s public forum.
Acting Deputy Attorney General JoAnn Jayne came before the Budget and Finance Committee on Tuesday to claim that the best way to settle this matter is by entering executive session.
“The Department of Justice is not here to hinder the process. Our main emphasis is that we protect the attorney-client relationship,” said Jayne, adding, “We can advise you as to what can be disclosed and what cannot be disclosed, and so the sooner that we do that, you know, then the legislative branch can move on.”
“That’s how we think about this. … Let’s go sit in the room and let’s talk about it.”
During this second day of questioning, Delegate Norman Begay pressed Jayne, asking her plainly: “What happened to the money?” The councilman who represents the New Mexico chapters of Alamo, Ramah and Tohajiilee believed that the president “should be the first one” here to reply.
“He’s getting on the radio saying that, ‘Oh, the money is still there,’ but we can’t find that money. Maybe it’s in a coffee can somewhere — buried. I don’t know,” said Begay. “You’re supposed to be neutral. ... You can’t take side with us, too, and you can’t take side with the executive. All we need is this simple answer.”
“And the question is, what happened to the money?” Jayne responded. “That is now being investigated, as I said, through the courts and through a special prosecutor. And so that’s how I’m gonna answer that.”
Budget and Finance Committee Vice Chair Carl Slater, who is pro tem and responsible for supervising this hearing in the absence of Chair Shaandiin Parrish, raised questions about whether the DOJ is operating in good faith.
“It’s very difficult to ascertain — between the politically appointed leadership of the department and the rank and file employees — what the position of the department is with respect to trying to quash this whole endeavor.”
Meanwhile, Nygren himself has filed several motions to stay the public proceedings.
On his social media account, Nygren shared in a statement that the Diné “deserve honest oversight rooted in facts and the law — not political theater disguised as accountability.”
While the Budget and Finance Committee continues its investigatory hearing through as late as June 18, an Albuquerque-based special prosecutor has been also conducting his own fact-finding investigation after being appointed last August.
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