"The Senate voted to confirm a top lawyer for the Department of the Interior who was accused of lying to Congress.

Daniel Jorjani, already the de facto top lawyer for the department, was confirmed with a 51-43 vote. He is the subject of an ongoing review by the Interior Department’s Office of the Inspector General.

Jorjani has been a much-eyed figured with Democrats and environmental watchdog groups for his involvement in crafting a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) policy that allows political appointees to review records requests and even withhold documents.

“On Friday, the Interior Inspector General confirmed Jorjani is currently under investigation for his role in this FOIA policy. That fact alone ought to be enough to stop this nomination from moving forward,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who vowed to block Jorjani’s nomination, arguing that Jorjani was not forthcoming about his work on the policy during questioning from lawmakers. “Bottom line, I believe Mr. Jorjani lied to the committee and perjured himself.”"

Rebecca Beitsch reports for The Hill September 24, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Interior: Jorjani Clears Senate Hurdle" (Greenwire) [3]