roy bailey
why mtg w/ former Inhofe chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, EPA pruitt cos
U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva and committee member Rep. Katie Porter are investigating an alleged bribery scheme in which they believe a real estate developer donated to a super PAC aligned in support of former President Donald Trump in exchange for pardons for two other men.
The two Democrats wroteto Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Friday, calling on her department to release all documents related to the pardons of Dwight and Steven Hammond, who had been convicted in 2012 of setting fires on public lands they had leased after illegally killing deer on the land.The two men were sentenced to five years in prison with time served in 2015, sparking right-wing protests including a 40-day armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
Grijalva (Ariz.) and Porter (Calif.) believe real estate developer Mike Ingram—who was the subject of the Natural Resources Committee's first-ever criminal referral regarding another potential bribery case involving a clean water permit for one of his developments—secured the Hammonds' pardons in 2018 with a $10,000 donation to the America First Action, Inc. Super PAC.
According to the letter, Ingram's assistant emailed a Trump Interior Department official on May 25, 2018, attaching two articles arguing for the Hammonds to be pardoned. On July 1, a Republican lawmaker who supported the Hammonds tweeted that Trump was "seriously considering" pardoning them.
One day later, Ingram made his donation, and just over a week after that Trump announced he was pardoning the Hammonds.
"Mr. Ingram made only one other $10,000 donation during the 2017-2018 nonpresidential election cycle," wrote Grijalva and Porter. "That donation was the subject of the committee's criminal referral regarding the Villages at Vigneto development [in Arizona]. In that case, Ingram and 12 other individuals, many of whom maintained personal or professional relationships with Ingram, donated nearly a quarter of a million dollars to the Trump Victory Fund and the Republican National Committeeon the same day or within just a few days that a major federal action regarding Vigneto was made in Ingram's favor."
"The parallels between the Vigneto case and the Hammonds' pardons raise significant concerns about another potential case of bribery under the Trump administration and warrant further investigation," they added.
On social media, Porter noted that she and Grijalva uncovered the evidence of Ingram's alleged bribe "while investigating a possible $240,000 quid pro quo scheme between the Trump administration and a developer."
"We're requesting documents to help us get to the bottom of [the Ingram case]," Porter said. "I have zero tolerance for corruption."
ref 1 ltr
december 2, 2022 The Honorable Deb Haaland Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Secretary Haaland: On May 11, 2022, the House Committee on Natural Resources (Committee) presented evidence of likely bribery involving former U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary David Bernhardt and Villages at Vigneto developer Mike Ingram, in the Committee’s first-ever criminal referral to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). 1 The Committee has now uncovered another potential incident of bribery involving Ingram and senior Trump administration officials through its review of documents obtained in that investigation. In 2012, ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of arson on federal lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 2
According to DOJ, the Hammonds informed BLM that a fire they had started on Hammond's private property to burn off invasive species had inadvertently spread to public lands. However, witnesses, including a relative, later came forward and testified that Steven Hammond had instructed companions to drop lit matches on the ground, with the effect of destroying evidence that a Hammond hunting party had illegally slaughtered deer on the BLM lands. By law, arson on federal lands carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.3 The district court in the Hammonds’ case ordered sentences far below this requirement, citing Eighth Amendment concerns, but a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the illegal sentences and ordered the district court to resentence the Hammonds in compliance with the law.4 The U.S. Supreme Court denied cert, 5 and on October 7, 2015, the district court imposed five-year prison terms on each of the Hammonds,...
p2
credit for time already served.6
On July 10, 2018, President Trump signed Executive Grants of Clemency
(Full Pardons) for both Hammonds.7
Documents obtained in the Committee’s Vigneto investigation indicate that Mike Ingram used his unique
access to high-ranking Trump administration officials to advocate for these pardons. In an email dated
May 25, 2018, Mr. Ingram’s executive assistant sentBen Cassidy, DOI’s Senior Deputy Director for
External and Intergovernmental Affairs, two articles on the topic, including an op-ed arguing for pardons
for the Hammonds (see Attachment 1).
8
On Sunday, July 1, 2018, a vocal proponent for pardoning the Hammonds shared in a tweet that
“President Trump called me to say he is 'seriously considering' pardoning Dwight and Steven
Hammond.”9
This was the first public acknowledgement that a pardon was under consideration.10
On Monday, July 2, 2018, the next business day, the Federal Election Commission database shows that
Mr. Ingram made a $10,000 out-of-cycle donation to the America First Action, Inc. Super PAC.11 The
America First Action, Inc. Super PAC describes itself as “dedicated to supporting President Trump | We
are the only Official Pro-Trump Super PAC.”12 On Tuesday, July 10, 2018, President Trump signed
Executive Grants of Clemency (Full Pardons) for both Hammonds.13
Mr. Ingram made only one other $10,000 donation during the 2017–2018 non-presidential election
cycle.14 That donation was the subject of the Committee’s criminal referral regarding the Villages at
Vigneto development. In that case, Ingram and 12 other individuals, many of whom maintained personal
or professional relationships with Ingram, donated nearly a quarter of a million dollars to the Trump
Victory Fund and the Republican National Committee on the same day or within just a few days that a
major federal action regarding Vigneto was made in Ingram’s favor.All other donations from Ingram
during this election cycle were $5,400 or less.
House Rule X(1)(m) provides the Committee with jurisdiction over the subject matters within DOI’s
authority. The parallels between the Vigneto case and the Hammonds’ pardons raise significant concerns
about another potential case of bribery under the Trump administration and warrant further investigation.
notes
6 Department of Justice. (2015, October 7). Eastern Oregon Ranchers Convicted of Arson Resentenced to Five Years in Prison
[Press Release]. https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/eastern-oregon-ranchers-convicted-arson-resentenced-five-years-prison
7
“Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Clemency for Dwight and Steven Hammond” Trump White House
Archives. July 10, 2018. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-regardingexecutive-clemency-dwight-steven-hammond/
8 Attachment 1 is also included as Attachment 59 in the Committee's referral to the Department of Justice regarding the Villages
at Vigneto incident, available here: https://naturalresources house.gov/media/press-releases/chair-grijalva-rep-porter-referformer-interior-secretary-bernhardt-villages-at-vigneto-developer-to-justice-department-alleging-criminal-bribery
9 Walden, G. [repgregwalden]. (2018, July 1) Late Saturday afternoon, President Trump called me to say he is ‘seriously
considering’ pardoning Dwight and Steven Hammond. [Tweet]. Retrieved from
https://twitter.com/repgregwalden/status/1013455435502964738.
10 The Congressional Research Service (CRS) completed a search on November 9, 2022 for news reports that indicated the White
House was seriously considering a pardon for the Hammonds before July 2, 2018. They found none.
11 United States. (2018) U.S. Federal Election Commission FEC. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individualcontributions/?contributor name=Ingram%2C+Michael&contributor name=Mike+ingram&two year transaction period=2018
12 America First [AmericaFirstPAC]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from
https://twitter.com/AmericaFirstPAC
13 “Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Clemency for Dwight and Steven Hammond” Trump White House
Archives. July 10, 2018. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-regardingexecutive-clemency-dwight-steven-hammond/
14 United States. (2018) U.S. Federal Election Commission FEC. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individualcontributions/?contributor name=Ingram%2C+Michael&contributor name=Mike+ingram&two year transaction period=2018
To assist the Committee’s investigation of this issue, please provide the following documents and
information as soon as possible, but no later than December 15, 2022:
- All documents and communications relating to Dwight or Steven Hammond between all
presidential appointees requiring the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS), presidential
appointees not requiring appointments (PA), noncareer Senior Executive Service (SES), or
Schedule C appointees at DOI or the Bureau of Land Management for any part of 2017 or 2018
and
a. Mike Ingram or Michael Ingram;
b. Any representative ofEl Dorado Holdings,including but not limited to ,
Michael (Mike) Reinbold, Jim Kenny, Dennis Krahn, Eric Hollensbe, Deb Bricker, Chris
Grogan, Linda Cheney, and June Prinz.
c. Any person representing the America First Action Inc. and America First Policies, Inc.
PACs, including but not limited to:
i. Brian O Walsh;
ii. Thomas O Hicks, Jr.;
iii. Roy W Bailey;
iv. Harold Hamm;
v. Jonathan T Proch;
vi. Joseph Ahearn;
vii. Erin Montgomery;
viii. Sean Spicer;
d. Any White House Office personnel;
e. Dwight Hammond;
f. Steven Hammond;
g. Anyone from Lawrence Matasar PC;
h. Anyone from Ransom & Blackman LLP; and
- All documents relating to a pardon for Dwight or Steven Hammond.
Please contact the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee staff at (202) 225-6065 with any questions
about this request. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Raúl M. Grijalva Katie Porter
Chair Chair
Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations
Committee on Natural Resources
ref 2
12.02.22
Chair Grijalva, Rep. Porter Seek Documents on Another Incident of Potential Bribery under the Trump Administration
Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Katie Porter (D-Calif.) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland requesting documents regarding a second incident of potential bribery between senior officials in the Trump administration and real estate developer Mike Ingram. Previously, the lawmakers sent the Committee’s first-ever criminal referral to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging potential bribery regarding a Trump administration decision about Ingram’s proposed real estate development, the Villages at Vigneto in Benson, Arizona.
The full letter to DOI is available :{here:(style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:700"):}:.
In their letter, Chair Grijalva and Rep. Porter describe evidence that Ingram, a businessman with unique access to high-ranking Trump administration officials, may have unduly influenced former President Trump’s decision to pardon convicted public lands arsonists Dwight and Steven Hammond in exchange for a sizeable donation to a pro-Trump Super PAC.
The letter lays out the following timeline of events:
- May 25, 2018 – Ingram’s executive assistant sends an email to Ben Cassidy, DOI’s Senior Deputy Director for External and Intergovernmental Affairs, with two articles arguing for pardons for the Hammonds, including anop-ed by Trump-era Bureau of Land Management Director William Perry Pendley.
- July 1, 2018 – A proponent for pardoning the Hammonds tweets that President Trump is “seriously considering a pardon.
- July 2, 2018 – Ingram makes a $10,000 out-of-cycle donation to the America First Action, Inc. Super PAC.
- July 10, 2018 – President Trump pardons the Hammonds.
Ingram’s only other $10,000 donation during the 2017–2018 non-presidential election cycle was the donation that triggered the Committee’s investigation into—and subsequent criminal referral about—the Villages at Vigneto development. As the letter points out, “The parallels between the Vigneto case and the Hammonds’ pardons raise significant concerns about another potential case of bribery under the Trump administration and warrant further investigation.”
Background on the Villages at Vigneto Criminal Referral
On May 11, 2022, after a years-long investigation, Chair Grijalva and Rep. Porter sent the Committee’s first-ever criminal referral to DOJ outlining evidence of potential bribery between Trump administration officials, including then-DOI Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, and Ingram regarding the Villages at Vigneto (Vigneto) real estate development.
The Committee’s investigation began in April 2019 when the Arizona Daily Star reported that Steve Spangle, a now-retired Field Supervisor at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Arizona office, claimed he was directed by a “high level politico” to reverse the agency’s decision about Vigneto in late 2017. Later reporting revealed that then–DOI Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt was the “politico.”
The investigation found that—shortly after holding asecret breakfast meeting with Dep. Secretary Bernhardt—Ingram and 12 other individuals, many of whom maintained personal or professional relationships with him, donated nearly a quarter of a million dollars to the Trump Victory Fund and the Republican National Committee. All of the donations occurred on or near Oct. 6, 2017, the same day that a major federal action regarding Vigneto was made in Ingram’s favor.
Weeks later, on Oct. 26, 2017, Spangle officially reversed FWS’ decision on Vigneto, marking the final greenlight for the development.
Concurrent with standard practice, DOJ has not yet commented on whether they have pursued the investigation.
Press Contact
Media Contact: Lindsay Gressard
202-225-6065 | cell: 202-740-4715
another question from February, as shown in the above screenshot from one of the group's reports, respondents were reminded that large companies had given out employee bonuses before they were asked if they agreed with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's comment that worker bonuses were "crumbs" compared with corporate windfalls. The results were surprising: A plurality of voters agreed with Pelosi, despite the lopsided question. This would suggest that for Republicans, using the "crumbs" comment as an attack line against Democrats in 2018 campaigns, which Trump has suggested they do, may not be a good idea.
Over the past six months, CNBC monitored America First Policies' website and found hundreds of pages of polling and research paid for by donors whose names are permitted to be kept secret. Much of this polling has since been removed from the site, but a portion of the removed documents are still available online.
America First Policies is not the first nonprofit group created to advance a president's priorities, nor is it the first to conduct intensive polling. Two Obama-linked groups, Priorities USA and Organizing for Action, did the same thing. Priorities USA did not disclose its donors, but OFA did voluntarily, releasing quarterly donor lists.
But by hiring the Trump campaign's pollsters to conduct such a large and secretive Trump-focused data operation, and paying for it with dark money, America First Policies is going well beyond what previous outside nonprofit groups have done.
While a political committee such as the RNC is designed and expected to collect information that helps to win elections, a nonprofit group such as America First Policies — permitted to operate tax-free and accept unlimited donations from donors whose names can be kept secret — is not.
"So you have a situation where large donors are contributing to America First Policies with the understanding that their secret donations are going to be seen as valuable by the president, because this group appears to work so closely with the White House," said Campaign Legal Center's Fischer. "And because these donors are secret, the public and Congress will never know if the White House later took action to advance a donor's interests."
In addition to a slew of senior advisors with ties to Trump, America First Policies has three board members, all of whom are also close to the Trump White House. Its chairman, Tommy Hicks Jr., is the son of a billionaire and a good friend of Donald Trump Jr. He has also reportedly brokered White House introductions for companies seeking business with the Trump administration.
Another board member,Dallas financial executive Roy Bailey,serves asmanaging director and founding partner of Giuliani Partners LLC,along with former New York City mayor and longtime Trump ally Rudy Giuliani. The newest board member isHarold Hamm, a shale oil billionairewho was Trump's top pick for energy secretary but reportedly turned down the job.