Osage Congress votes to proceed with trial to remove chief

PAWHUSKA, Okla. – Acting on a special committee’s recommendation, Osage Nation Congress voted unanimously Friday morning to proceed with a removal trial for Principal Chief John Red Eagle.

Introduced Thursday by Congressman Archie Mason, the vote stems from report issued last month by a five-member Select Committee of Inquiry that investigated 15 allegations against the chief spanning three years. The removal trial will focus on six counts deemed by the committee to have enough evidence to warrant an impeachment hearing.

Among the accusations that will be considered at the removal trial:

— Interfering with an investigation of the Osage Nation Attorney General’s office on May 31.

— Attempting to have the aforementioned attorney general’s office investigation “terminated to give preferential treatment to an employee."

— Refusing to uphold a tribal law that delegates “full and sole control over all Minerals Estate accounts” to the Osage Minerals Council. The law was enacted in October 2011 with a veto override. In February 2012, Red Eagle wrote to the council that the accounts’ management would remain with the tribe’s treasury instead.

— Abuse of power by forbidding disciplinary action towards an Osage Nation Election Board employee.

— Abuse of power by withholding at least one contract between the tribe and consultant Rod Hartness from both the Osage News and the Bigheart Times, a weekly newspaper based out of Barnsdall, Okla. Both newspapers filed formal requests under the tribe’s Open Records Act earlier this year after Red Eagle’s office refused to disclose the terms during a legislative committee meeting. The contract was not made available until the discovery phase of a civil lawsuit brought forward by the Osage News under the terms of the tribe’s Open Records Act.

— Breaking tribal and federal law by using tribal funds for at least one year to pay a contractor more than $70,000 to maintain and develop the chief’s personal website, www.johnredeagle.com. The site was also used by Red Eagle’s campaign in 2010.

As of the close of business Friday, a trial date has not yet been announced. The trial can only occur during a special session of the Osage Nation Congress. As per the tribe’s removal procedures, the 12 members of Congress will serve as the jury and a member of the Osage Nation Supreme Court will oversee the proceedings. Since Chief Justice Meredith Drent selected the members of the Select Committee of Inquiry, she is not eligible to preside over the removal trial.

Any removal vote requires the approval of at least 10 of the 12 members of Congress.

In Washington D.C. for President Barack Obama’s Tribal Leaders Summit, Red Eagle did not attend Thursday or Friday’s 10-minute meetings during the special Congressional session. His office issued a statement Friday afternoon:

“We all want ethics in government, but the current means for achieving that goal is ripe for abuse,” he said. “The rules created and implemented by the Congress provide due process and no appellate review of the verdict for errors or abuse of discretion. I refute the unwarranted allegations and deserve a process that adheres to those fundamental principles of fairness and justice.”

Citing the lack of immediate threat to Red Eagle, the tribe’s Supreme Court denied his request Wednesday for a temporary restraining order that would have prevented Congress from conducting Friday’s vote.

Additionally, Red Eagle has a lawsuit pending in tribal court against Congress, Speaker Raymond Red Corn and Select Committee of Inquiry chairwoman Alice Buffalohead, questioning the constitutionality of the Congressional rules being followed during the removal process. A decision has not been handed down.