Republicans accelerate investigation into Biden Cabinet official over ties to left-wing eco group
- October 23, 2023
Thomas Catenacci, Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: Republican leaders on the House Natural Resources Committee are accelerating an ongoing investigation into Interior Secretary Deb Haaland over her ties to left-wing environmental activist group Pueblo Action Alliance (PAA).
According to a letter to Haaland and top Interior Department (DOI) ethics official Heather Gottry — sent Monday and led by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark. — Haaland has exhibited a potential “lack of impartiality and misuse of her position” for the benefit of PAA and multiple family members. Haaland’s daughter has worked at PAA while her husband has engaged in consulting work related to DOI actions.
The letter additionally pointed to Haaland’s meetings with PAA Executive Director Julia Bernal during her tenure as interior secretary. Bernal boasted during an interview in 2021 that she met personally with Haaland, whom she referenced as “Auntie Deb,” about the group’s broad opposition to oil and gas leasing.
“The Committee is also concerned that Secretary Haaland may have conveyed nonpublic information to PAA, whether intentionally or not, given the unrivaled access PAA officials and staff have to Secretary Haaland,” it added.
PAA’s ties to the Venceremos Brigade was first reported by ADN America in September.
“Since the July 2019 trip to Cuba, the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, the Venceremos Brigade, and PAA have continued to work together on shared projects and goals, including the creation of a New Mexico-based chapter of the Venceremos Brigade,” the Republicans wrote.