Wampum

The Bush Administration thought they won a huge victory by having Cobell v. Babbitt/Norton/Kempthorne judge Royce Lamberth removed last year. Maybe they want to rethink that.

With his eyes toward an October trial, the federal judge handling the Cobell trust fund case said on Monday he wants the federal government to show how much money Indian beneficiaries were or weren't paid.

Indian Country deserves to know the answer, Judge James Robertson said at a 2.5-hour status hearing in Washington, D.C. So do Congress and the public, he told lawyers for the plaintiffs and the Bush administration.

"What does it all add up to?" Robertson said. "What are the big numbers?"

The very last thing this government wants is an actual accounting, which is exactly what it seems Robertson is demanding.