Move to oust AG on fast track
By Marley Shebala
Navajo Times
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Did Attorney General Louis Denetsosie sign a petition calling for the reduction of the Navajo Nation Council to 24 members?
And if he did, would it be a violation of the code of professional conduct set forth by the Navajo Bar Association, to which all practicing attorneys on the Navajo Nation must adhere?
Would such a violation be grave enough to result in the removal of Denetsosie as a member of the bar, which would disqualify him from serving as attorney general or practicing law on the reservation?
Thanks to an extraordinarily fast-track approach, those questions may come before the council during its summer session, slated to start July 21.
Under Navajo law, Denetsosie serves at the pleasure of the council, not the president. However, the president controls the nomination process - a procedure put in place after the Peter MacDonald years in an effort to balance power between the executive and legislative branches.
President Joe Shirley Jr. recommended Denetsosie shortly after taking office in 2003, and the council voted to hire him. The council has oversight authority over Denetsosie's office and can vote to remove him.
On Friday, two council committees heard and acted on a measure sponsored by Delegate Young Jeff Tom (Mariano Lake/Smith Lake) to remove Denetsosie as attorney general.
Tom's bill was accompanied by about an inch of supporting documents that detail the council's beefs with Denetsosie dating back to 2003.
First Tom raised the issue before the council's Government Services Committee, which oversees the attorney general's office.
After a lengthy discussion that included comments by most of its members, the committee voted 6-1 in favor of sending the measure to the council with a "do pass" recommendation. (See separate story)
Then he presented the legislation to the Ethics and Rules Committee, which voted 6-1 to put it on the summer session agenda.
E&R, which oversees and approves the council session agendas, also gave Tom's bill a "do pass" recommendation.
Denetsosie did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Patrick Sandoval, Shirley's chief of staff, said Friday that he was representing Denetsosie before the Government Services Committee, and that he didn't think the attorney general would sign a petition to reduce the council.
But Sandoval added that he didn't know for sure.
He emphasized that Tom's claim that Denetsosie signed Shirley's ballot initiative was only an allegation and said he would contact the Navajo Times with an answer after he looked into the matter.
"As attorney general, Mr. Denetsosie has done a lot of good work," Sandoval said. "He is responsible for a lot of good (court) settlements.
"We feel that the opinion he issued on the initiative is the reason for this action (by Tom) and we wanted to be here to present some information to discourage the committee from supporting it and to think as reasonably as possible," he said.
Denetsosie is defending Shirley's position in a challenge by Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan, who has asked the Office of Hearings and Appeals to disqualify Shirley's ballot initiative to cut the number of council seats from 88 to 24.
Denetsosie authored a legal opinion that supports Shirley's position, and issued a memo criticizing the acting chief legislative counsel for writing a legal opinion in favor of Morgan's challenge.
Sandoval said he had intended to address the Government Services Committee at Friday's meeting, but it convened an hour earlier than the scheduled time. By the time Sandoval arrived, the committee had already voted to endorse Tom's bill to axe Denetsosie.
On Tuesday, the Navajo Times contacted Sandoval and requested a copy of a June 20 memorandum from Shirley to the Government Services Committee in which he responds to the proposal to remove Denetsosie.
Portions of the memo were quoted in a June 20, 2008, Associated Press story after George Hardeen, Shirley's public information officer, read it over the telephone to an AP reporter.
Sandoval said before he could release the memo to the Navajo Times, he would have check with Hardeen. At press time Wednesday he had not responded to numerous follow-up calls seeking the memo.
According to the AP story, Shirley's memo stated of the move against Denetsosie, "I think it's retaliation for what he's done working for us, working for the people. It's really not good. I hope a majority of the council will not go with it."
The AP also quotes Shirley as stating in his memo that Tom's legislation "could result not only in a severe public backlash but unforeseen and unnecessary government instability."
On Tuesday, the Times e-mailed Hardeen and asked for a comment by Shirley about the proposal to remove Denetsosie.
However, no comment from Shirley was provided although Hardeen indicated that Shirley thought it was better to give the discussions between Shirley and Morgan a chance to work.
Jay Mason, chairman of the Navajo Bar Association's disciplinary committee, declined to comment on whether signing Shirley's petition would put Denetsosie in violation of the bar's code of conduct.
Mason said Tuesday the disciplinary committee has not received a complaint against Denetsosie.