Grand jury examines whether former Home Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to federal investigators

Prosecutors have begun to present evidence to a grand jury in Washington as part of their investigation into whether former Home Secretary Ryan Zinke had lied to federal investigators, according to two informed people on this subject.

In-camera debates deal with Zinke's decision not to accept a request from two Indian tribes to operate a commercial casino in Connecticut, according to those who spoke on condition of anonymity because the debates of jury are not public.

The efforts of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to operate a gaming center in East Windsor, Connecticut, sparked a lobbying campaign by MGM Resorts International, a competitor opposed to the proposed casino. The proposal was scrutinized internally and at the White House in the first few months of President Trump.

The tribes claim that Zinke has decided not to respond to their request because of political pressure. The Office of the Inspector General of the Interior opened an investigation on this subject a year ago.

Investigators from the Inspector General's Office of the Interior Ministry eventually believed that Zinke had lied to them during the investigation and referred the case to the Ministry of Justice at the end of last year.

Making false statements to federal officials is a crime, but it can be difficult to prove, as it forces prosecutors to show someone "knowingly and willingly" that they have lied, rather than just giving facts. wrong.

The Justice and Interior Ministries refused to comment on the case on Friday.

Zinke did not respond to a request for comment. In an interview with The Post last month, he denied any wrongdoing related to the casino deal.

"The Ministry of the Interior should not take a position on any activity outside the reserve that is not bound by law or treaty," he said.

"I defended the principle that I did not want to take a stand on something that was not on the reserve. I had several opinions from legal advisers on what was legal. The investigators may not have liked my answers, but they were truthful.

[Prosecutors are probing whether Ryan Zinke told DOI investigators the truth]

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes have asked the federal government, in 2017, to operate a commercial casino off reserve, under an agreement guaranteeing that this operation would give 25% of its revenues in machinery to under in the state of Connecticut.

The MGM, which declined to comment this week, sought to block the petition on the grounds that it would provide an unfair economic advantage to the tribes. The casino giant owns a gaming complex just 12 miles (20 km) from East Windsor in Springfield, Mass., And plans to open a casino in Bridgeport.

Interior officials – including the career staff and two Trump appointees – had provisionally approved the tribes' proposal in the summer of 2017. But in September, the department refused to approve it, which led to action. Mashantucket Pequot and the state of Connecticut. The tribe asked if Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), Then Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Who both received contributions from MGM Resorts International. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Heller ranked Heller's second largest contributor between 2011 and 2016, raising $ 57,450 during this period.

The tribal lawyers and the state of Connecticut altered their complaint Wednesday at the District Court of the District of Columbia. The filing indicates that Heller called Zinke on September 15, 2017, just hours before the Interior Minister made his final decision, in order to force him to not approve the casino application.

Heller could not be contacted immediately for comment on Friday.

In September, US District Judge Rudolph Contreras rejected the tribe's original request. The Mohegan tribe has withdrawn from the dispute after Interior has acknowledged the validity of its gambling agreement in June 2018.

Zinke, who voluntarily participated in two Inspector General interviews on the subject, told The Post that he had resigned early in the year because the investigations and "anger and the hatred "liberal opponents had created a poisoned atmosphere for him and the department he was heading. .

"If I had stayed, I would have become an angry person and I did not want it," he said.

As of Friday, Zinke had not yet been called to appear before the grand jury.

Witnesses in front of the grand jury were asked if anyone had influenced Zinke's decision to reject the tribe's casino application, according to the two people familiar with the procedure. Prosecutors also asked witnesses – including officials from the interior – what advice they had given Zinke during the examination of the application.

Matt Zapotosky and Josh Dawsey contributed to this report.