Press Releases
Natural Resources Chairman Looks to Uncover New Evidence of Trump-Era Bribery Scheme

Today, Accountable.US released the following statement and analysis in response to U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources Committee members seeking new documents concerning a Trump-era bribery allegation involving the Interior Department during then Secretary Bernhardt’s leadership:
The rampant corruption and self-dealing inherent to anti-public land extremists and the far right is deeply intertwined with political violence. Congress must investigate these credible allegations to ensure we do not return to the days of perpetual scandals endangering our parks and climate.”
Chris Marshall, Research Manager of Energy and Environment at Accountable.US
Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva and Rep. Katie Porter wrote a letter seeking to obtain critical documents from the Department of Interior that indicate Republican donor and real estate developer Mike Ingram donated to a Trump-aligned super PAC in exchange for the pardons of two anti-public land extremists who were convicted of setting fires and illegally killing deer on Bureau of Land Management property, thus violating the terms of the lease.
The news comes on the heels of the committee making its first criminal referral to the US Department of Justice in another Ingrahm-involved case. They exposed evidence suggesting that then-Secretary David Bernhardt reversed a permit decision for one of Ingrahm’s projects soon after the developer donated nearly $250,000 to the Republican National Committee and then President Trump’s campaign.