Sources: Zinke being investigated

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s public-integrity section is examining whether newly departed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to his agency’s inspector-general investigators, according to three people familiar with the matter, a potential criminal violation that would exacerbate Zinke’s legal woes. Zinke, who left President Donald Trump’s administration Wednesday, was facing two inspector-general inquiries tied to his real estate dealings in his home state of Montana and his involvement in reviewing a proposed casino project by American Indian tribes in Connecticut. In the course of that work, inspector-general investigators came to believe Zinke had lied to them, and they referred the matter to the Justice Department to consider whether any laws were violated, the people familiar with the matter said. The department’s public-integrity section has since been exploring the case, the people familiar with the matter said. The extent of its work is unclear, though the inspector general had questioned witnesses in an apparent attempt to scrutinize Zinke’s account, one of the people said. A spokesman for Zinke said Zinke voluntarily participated in two inspector-general interviews about the Connecticut tribal matter and “to the best of his knowledge answered all questions truthfully.” The spokesman said Zinke had not been contacted by the Justice Department and that disclosures about the matter violated inspector general and Justice Department protocols. On Wednesday, Zinke wrote a farewell letter to staff members and posted a handwritten note on Twitter. Neither mentioned the ethics allegations that prompted his departure. A Justice Department spokesman declined comment.