The Dismal Cobell Dismissal

MARY CLARE JALONICK has a report just out: Judge says Indians owed $455m in trust case

U.S. District Judge James Robertson has summarily dismissed any billion dollar claim the Cobell plaintiff's had against the government. He has issued an opinion saying that Indians are entitled to 455 million dollars as part of the broken Trust duties of the United States. That's not even 1 million to each of the 562 tribes across the nation. Really? Really enit? They (the U.S. Government) were that accurate from 1887? Wow! Somebody nominate this government for a Quality Management Award!

Judge James Robertson says that Eloise Cobell et al. didn't prove that damages included benefits to the United States that the U.S. received as part of mis-use of the Trust Funds, despite the fact that it was argued that the trust funds were used to down-size some government debts.

Funny part is that he says in his ending statement, "The Cobell case will no doubt stand, in some respects, as a cautionary tale about the limited ability of a court to right historical wrongs that could have been — and should have been — settled by the same political branches in recognition of their own failure to preserve the trust."

Aint it the truth?