To investigate or not - council debates the merits

Before the Navajo Nation Council voted to place President Joe Shirley Jr. on leave Monday, delegates engaged in hours of heated debate over the matter.

The single-day special session began with several delegates attempting to disqualify the legislation that asked to place Shirley on administrative leave while the attorney general investigates his possible ties to two failed business dealings that cost the tribe millions.

However, Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan (Iyanbito/Pinedale) ruled the bill in order.

Delegate Young Jeff Tom (Mariano Lake/Smith Lake) introduced a potential replacement bill that would have forwarded both issues to the attorney general without placing Shirley on leave. The council voted to add the bill to the agenda, but ultimately ignored it.

"The vote wasn't there for this bill," Tom said in an interview following the session.

Tom ended up voting in support of placing Shirley on leave, despite his own alternate legislation.

"There's already been so much discussion. We didn't want to get into a fight or anything," he said.

Raymond Joe (Blue Gap/Tachee/Whippoorwill), who sponsored the bill to put Shirley on leave, said it was a matter of protocol.

The council heard two reports on Dec. 19 detailing the dealings behind OnSat, a telecommunications company that reportedly overcharged the tribe, and BCDS Manufacturing Inc., a Shiprock company that left the tribe holding about $6 million in debt before shutting down.

Joe said the reports link Shirley closely to both ventures, which could result in criminal charges.

His bill initially listed both Shirley and Vice President Ben Shelly, however the council voted to remove Shelly because he was not named in either report.

"We need to put these people on administrative leave," Joe said. "It's important to protect the integrity of the Navajo people."

The council's action leaves it up to Attorney General Louis Denetsosie to reinstate Shirley if, after reviewing the investigative reports, he feels there's nothing worth pursuing, Joe said. This would clear Shirley of any wrongdoing, he said.

Denetsosie did not return calls for comment.

Pete Ken Atcitty (Shiprock) asked why it was necessary to go to such lengths to handle the matter. The tribe has a process that would allow any delegate to take the findings from the reports to file a complaint with the Office of Ethics and Rules for further investigation.

"This isn't a tribunal, you're making it a tribunal," Atcitty said. "We're not judge and jury."

Several delegates, including Atcitty, said the fact that Joe's bill listed specific names was an implication of guilt. In addition to Shirley and Shelly, the bill listed several Shirley appointees and his chief of staff as potential people to focus on in Denetsosie's investigation.

Nelson Begaye (Lukachukai/Tsaile/Wheatfields) said he disagreed with the bill because it did not list the charges that Shirley could be facing - a complaint Shirley and his supporters have made repeatedly. The council has kept both reports under wraps.

"To be truly fair, we need to attach the reports to the document and read them into record," Begaye said.

Leonard Tsosie (Pueblo Pintado/Torreon/Whitehorse Lake) maintained that the reports offer little to no evidence that Shirley was entangled in either business.

"It bothers me that there is very weak evidence against the president," Tsosie said. "There is no proof that money exchanged hands, no gifts, no quid pro quo."

Tsosie questioned the intent behind putting Shirley on leave. He noted that the president, who pushed to let the people vote on reducing the council, is not well liked in the council chambers.

"There are people who are ready to put him on leave for misspelling a word," Tsosie said.

However, Omer Begay (Cornfields/Greasewood Springs/Klagetoh/Wide Ruins) said Tsosie's comments were responsible for making the bill a negative.

"He doesn't see the positive of this legislation," Begay said. "We can clear staff. We can also clear the Navajo Nation of any wrongdoing."

The council's action would also help clear false allegations that have come up surrounding the reports, Begay said.

George Arthur (Nenahnezad/San Juan/T'iistoh Sikaad) questioned Joe's bill because it was altered from a previous version. The new version did not list as many names, leaving off Mark Grant, tribal controller, for instance. Arthur asked if Grant's name was removed under pressure from delegates.

Joe could not explain why Grant's name was removed.

Still, Lorenzo Curley (Houck/Lupton/Nahata Dziil) said the council was better off taking action.

"With all this body of evidence, you're asking us to put a blanket over it and walk away," Curley asked. "Let the investigation go (on)."

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