Democrats seek criminal charges against Trump Interior head

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee have asked the Justice Department to investigate whether a Trump administration interior secretary engaged in possible criminal conduct while helping an Arizona developer get a crucial permit for a housing project. David Bernhardt, who led the Interior Department from 2019 to 2021, is accused of wrongdoing as he helped developer Michael Ingram, a Republican donor and supporter of President Donald Trump, get a permit in 2017 for a housing project. A federal wildlife official said that project would threaten habitat for imperiled species. Bernhardt called the Democrats’ request “a pathetic attempt by career politicians to fabricate news.”