“Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen deferred a bid from line prosecutors to move forward with possible criminal charges against former interior secretary Ryan Zinke, saying they needed to gather more evidence and refine the case,” the Washington Post reports.

“The move late last year by Rosen, an appointee of President Trump, angered some career prosecutors in the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and has delayed for months the release of an Interior Department Office of Inspector General report about Zinke’s conduct.”

“Prosecutors have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury in Washington in their probe of whether former interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to federal investigators,” the Washington Post reports.

“The closed-door deliberations are focused on Zinke’s decision not to grant a petition by two Indian tribes to operate a commercial casino in Connecticut… Witnesses before the grand jury have been asked whether anyone influenced Zinke’s decision to rebuff the tribes’ casino petition.”

“White House officials have identified Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke as the Cabinet member most vulnerable to a congressional probe under a Democratic majority in January, putting the colorful secretary closer into the president’s crosshairs,” the Washington Post reports.

“The new assessment comes as President Trump is weighing whether to dismiss Zinke… Trump has told aides he will make a decision next week after he returns from Paris.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reached out to Fox News inquiring about working at the conservative news channel as a contributor, Politico reports.

“Zinke’s outreach came as the scandal-plagued former Navy SEAL and Montana congressman is looking for employment opportunities after he exits Interior, as is expected. Zinke is also seeking positions on energy company boards of directors or even with private equity firms.”

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke “continued to engage in discussions involving his family foundation’s property in summer 2017 despite the fact that he had pledged to recuse himself from such matters for a year,” according to documents obtained by the Washington Post.

“The White House is growing increasingly concerned about allegations of misconduct against Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and President Trump has asked aides for more information about a Montana land deal under scrutiny by the Justice Department,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trump told his aides that he is afraid Zinke has broken rules while serving as the interior secretary and is concerned about the Justice Department referral… But the president has not indicated whether he will fire the former Navy SEAL and congressman and has asked for more information.”

“The Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General has referred one of its ongoing probes into the conduct of Secretary Ryan Zinke to the Justice Department for further investigation,” the Washington Post reports.

“Interior Deputy Inspector General Mary L. Kendall, who is currently serving as acting inspector general, is conducting at least three probes that involve Zinke. These include his involvement in a Montana land deal and the decision not to grant two tribes approval to operate a casino in Connecticut. The individuals, who spoke of the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, did not specify which inquiry had been referred to the Justice Department.”

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke “sought to skirt or alter department policies to justify his taxpayer-funded trips with his wife, the agency’s inspector general said in the latest critical report on travel practices by President Trump’s Cabinet members,” Politico reports.

“Zinke’s maneuvers included pressing Interior staffers to research whether his wife, Lola, could become a volunteer at the agency, a move the employees said was designed to enable her to travel with him at taxpayer expense.”

“At last count, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was the subject of 14 separate government investigations. (A new record!) But that number could soon be zero. That’s because Zinke just fired the Department of the Interior’s acting inspector general,” Outside reports.

“The news doesn’t stop there. Not only did Mary Kendall, the acting inspector general, not learn she was being replaced until The Hill broke the news this morning, but her replacement will likely be able to fill the role without needing to go through Senate confirmation.”

CNN: “The meetings are coming to light now only because of internal memos and other notes, released through a Freedom of Information Act request, that reveal these meetings and others that were not noted on his calendar, glaring omissions from what is supposed to be a complete record of the secretary’s activities.”

“The monthly calendars the Interior Department has released publicly in response to Freedom of Information Act requests have often left off or obscured some meetings. More detailed accounts of Zinke’s time are found in separate briefing memos prepared by his staff, which have not been released with the calendars and were obtained only by filing another FOIA request.”

“Zinke, however, has never held a job as a geologist.”