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Gale Norton

Inside edge for Shell?

John,

Thought you might find this interesting given your involvement in the Gale Norton scandal several years ago.

It would seem that given the reserves of oil involved Shell was attempting to gain an ‘inside edge’ via political connections.

Oil-shale companies tout research projects – The Denver Post

Oil shale: Buried treasure or shell game for residents? – Vernal.com …
 
Oil shale reserves – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oil shale – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia read more

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Revolving Doors? Kate Smith, Shell UK Head of UK Government Relations

I’ve recently learned that a Kate Smith is about to become Director of the Americas Department at the FCO.  Would this by any chance be the same Kate Smith who moved from the FCO to Shell in 2008 as head of UK government relations?   Is there any word of that Kate Smith (for it must surely be she?) taking a sideways move back to the FCO?  This kind of revolving door move from diplomatic service to Shell and back surely, if that is the case, deserves some comment?

3 May 2012

By John Donovan

Printed below is an email I sent to Mr Michiel Brandjes on 1 May, which I also copied to Kate Smith, Shell UK Head of UK Government Relations. Mr Brandjes is Company Secretary & General Counsel Corporate of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

There has been no response thus far. Any response received will be added to this article.

Reminds me of a revolving door controversy in America also involving Shell.

As US Interior Secretary, Gale Norton was responsible for the 2006 decision to award valuable oil shale leases in Colorado to a Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary. Months later she became General Counsel of Shell Oil. We were approached and supplied Shell internal documents to a U.S. government agency investigating related allegations of corruption, of which Norton was eventually cleared. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL: THE MOST EVIL COMPANY ON THE PLANET?

*CORPORATE TERRORISM AGAINST A FORMER SHELL EMPLOYEE
*ROYAL DUTCH SHELL NAZI SECRETS EXPOSED
*INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT: GALE NORTON, SHELL SCANDAL
*Shell employee guinea pigs in study of carcinogenic properties
*1000?s of Shell workers asked to reapply for their own jobs
*SEX, DRUGS & CORRUPTION IN USA SPONSORED BY SHELL
*ROYAL DUTCH SHELL NIGERIAN CORRUPTION SCANDAL
*WIKILEAKS: SHELL EMBEDDED SPIES IN NIGERIAN GOV
*Shell embedded spies in governments of Nigeria, Dubai and Iraq
*PDF ORIGINAL ARTICLE SHELL EMBEDDED SPIES IN NIGERIA
*SHELL SETTLES CLAIM FOR MURDER & TORTURE IN NIGERIA
*SHELL COMPLICITY IN NIGERIAN MURDER OF CIVILIANS
*UNLOVEABLE SHELL, THE GODDESS OF OIL (NIGERIA +)
*CLEAN-UP FOR NIGER DELTA AND SHELL’S REPUTATION
*Shell fueled Nigerian violence by paying rival militant gangs
*SHELL CHIEF HAD A PRIVATE ARMY (IN NIGERIA)
*SHELL PAYS $10 MILLION CORRUPTION FINE TO NIGERIANS
*SHELL ACCEPTS LIABILITY FOR TWO OIL SPILLS IN NIGERIA
*NIGER DELTA CRISIS THREATENED SHELL’S GLOBAL BRAND
*SHELL GLOBAL SPYING ON ITS OWN EMPLOYEES
*DEATH THREATS AGAINST SHELL WHISTLEBLOWERS?
*Irish Police investigate death threats to Shell whistleblowers
*SHELL “TOUCH F*** ALL” OIL RIG SAFETY CULTURE
*PAYBACK TIME FOR CORPORATE VILLAINS?
*SHELL HIDES ITS TRADING WITH FANATICAL IRANIAN REGIME
*SHELL HID TRADING IN IRAQ OIL IN VIOLATION OF EMBARGO
*SHELL IN BED WITH GADDAFI, STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM
*SHELL INVOLVEMENT IN AL-YAMAMAH OIL FOR ARMS SCANDAL
*ROYAL DUTCH SHELL WORLDS LARGEST “SPECULATOR”
*Shell accused of supporting Syrian regime
*Whistleblower accuses Shell of psychological torture
*Blood for oil? (The invasion of Iraq)
*Why is Shell still present and operating in Syria?
*SHELL EVEN DEFRAUDED ITS OWN SHAREHOLDERS
*IRREGULARITIES IN A SHELL TENDER PROCESS read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON GALE NORTON, SHELL SCANDAL

By John Donovan

Although their names have been redacted, it appears from this report that John Hofmeister and Malcolm Brinded were both directly involved in negotiations/discussions with Gale Norton?

If the issue of Shell corruption is raised, based on our knowledge, there is always a good chance that Mr Big Brain, No Scruples  Brinded will be involved e.g. the “Touch F*** All” safety culture on North Sea Oil Rigs, his backing for a rigged Shell contract tender and now his interesting meeting in London with Gale Norton.
read more

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INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON GALE NORTON, SHELL SCANDAL – PART 3

We provided the results of our investigation to the U.S. Department of Justice, which declined criminal prosecution.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON GALE NORTON, SHELL SCANDAL – PART 2

Determination from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE)

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INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON GALE NORTON, SHELL SCANDAL – PART 1

The Office of Inspector General concluded an investigation based on a complaint that Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) received preferential treatment during the awarding of oil shale Research, Development, and Demonstration (RDD) leases in 2005 and 2006 by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Since former Secretary Gale Norton subsequently secured employment with Shell, we expanded our investigation to consider her involvement...

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Gale Norton’s departure from Shell Oil

“Ms. Norton was under investigation because there was (and still is) the ‘stench’ of corruption in the air regarding her conduct as DoI Secretary and the awarding of leases to Shell, followed by her eventual employment with Shell. Her departure from Shell indicates that Shell had no ‘further’ need for her services, and that she was a PR liability, if not a legal liability.”

John,

I read your article regarding Gale Norton’s lashing out at the investigation of her conduct in taking the job with RD Shell after leaving DoI.

Federal employees are all given ‘civilian’ employment ‘ethics’ counseling prior to exiting Federal Service. Furthermore, such counseling service is available for those who have exited and who might want take a position with a company where there might be a ‘conflict’, real or perceived.  These services were available to Ms. Norton from the DoI General Counsel’s office, or Inspector General’s Office, I am certain, and perhaps the Dept. of Justice as well. She could have availed herself of these services and sought an ‘official’ opinion from US government attorneys regarding employment with RD Shell. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

An eventful year for Royal Dutch Shell

Photograph of senior Shell official Richard Wiseman, right, was kindly offered and supplied by him for display on this website.This happened when he was still fond of us.

LEAFLET DISTRIBUTED TO SHELL EMPLOYEES AT THE SHELL CENTRE LONDON TODAY, MONDAY 13 DECEMBER 2010

As notified in advance to Mr Richard Wiseman, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, we today distributed leaflets (example below) to Shell employees at the Shell Centre in London.

Within minutes of arriving, a Shell security guard tried to move us on. When we politely refused, explaining that we were on public property and had notified Mr Wiseman of our intention, the security guard said he had never heard of Richard Wiseman and that we were not allowed to remain outside the main staff entrance. When we again declined to leave, he reported to a colleague that three people were issuing leaflets. I advised him that only two of us were doing so, the third person was a journalist from a daily newspaper. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Ex-Interior Secretary Says US ‘Wasted Millions’ In Probe


By Siobhan Hughes  Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES: DECEMBER 12, 2010, 7:56 P.M. ET

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–Former U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton lashed out days after an inspector general’s report found “no conclusive evidence” that she had broken federal conflict-of-interest laws when she accepted a job at Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) after leaving her post in the Bush administration.

“The Interior inspector general’s office wasted millions of taxpayer dollars in an attempt to find imagined wrongdoing,” Norton said in a statement circulated on Sunday. She said that she was unemployed for nine months after leaving the Interior Department and had interviewed for “a number of different positions” before joining Shell. Norton no longer works for Shell and did not say where or whether she is currently employed. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Interior Department Appeared To Give Shell Preferential Treatment -Report

DECEMBER 10, 2010

By Stephen Power and Siobhan Hughes

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–The federal agency that controls oil and natural gas production on U.S.-owned land “appeared to give preferential treatment” to Royal Dutch Shell PLC when the company was pursuing leases to drill on tracts of government-owned land in the western U.S. in 2005 and 2006, the acting inspector general of the Interior Department said in a report Friday.

The preferential treatment helped Shell obtain the leases and “disadvantaged” the company’s competitors, according to the acting inspector general’s report. But investigators say they found no evidence that Shell broke the law, and “no conclusive evidence” that then-Interior Secretary Gale Norton–who accepted a job with Shell several months after leaving her government post–broke federal conflict-of-interest laws. read more

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Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton won’t face charges

“It sounds like Secretary Norton was earning her salary from Shell even before they put her on the payroll,”

The Justice Department declined to file charges against Gale Norton. By DAN BERMAN | 12/10/10 6:15 PM EST Updated: 12/10/10 7:12 PM EST The Justice Department has declined to file charges against former Interior Secretary Gale Norton in connection with oil shale bids by Royal Dutch Shell. At issue are valuable oil shale leases that Shell won from Interior after Norton left the George W. Bush administration in March 2006 but before she took a job as a lawyer with the oil giant that December.

“We found that Norton was very interested in the [Research, Development and Demonstration] program during her tenure as secretary, but we did not find evidence to conclusively determine that Norton violated conflict-of-interest laws, either pre- or post-employment, with Shell,” Acting Interior Department Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote in a letter accompanying a report obtained by POLITICO.

The IG found that after leaving Interior but before joining Shell, Norton “failed to fully describe her role in the leasing program” to department ethics officials.” After she was hired, Norton contacted the Pentagon and Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, “indirectly,” regarding oil shale issues. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Real reason behind Shell spying operation on the Donovans?

“It would indeed be ironic if the resources of one investigative arm of the U.S. government has been used by Shell in an attempt to impede the Shell/Gale Norton corruption investigation being carried out by another investigative arm of the U.S. government.”

By John Donovan

In December 2009, following an analysis of Shell internal communications and documents supplied to us by Shell in response to a SAR application under the Data Protection Act, it became clear that Shell had once again resorted to cloak and dagger activity directed against us.

Reuters revealed that Royal Dutch Shell had asked an anti-fraud agency “NCFTA”, to target our website – royaldutchshellplc.com – on the basis  that “There will be no attempt to do anything visible to Donovan”.  The article said that NCFTA, the US National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance in Pittsburgh, did not respond to emails or telephone calls from Reuters on the subject. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Gale Norton’s Questionable Oil Industry Work

THE HUFFINGTON POST: Colorado’s Top 5 Scandals of 2009

Luis Toro: Director, Colorado Ethics Watch

Posted: January 8, 2010 10:20 AM

Gale Norton’s Questionable Oil Industry Work: In September 2009 the Department of Justice issued subpoenas as part of an investigation into Bush administration Interior Secretary and former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton. The Department of Justice is reportedly investigating whether Gale Norton used her position in the Interior Department to benefit Royal Dutch Shell by allowing her department to enter into three potentially lucrative amendments to oil leases with Royal Dutch Shell on federal land in Colorado, then took a job as an adviser to the oil-shale division of Royal Dutch Shell. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Infamy of the former interior secretary, Gale Norton

Denver Post

Greene: Integrity breaks new ground at Interior Department

By Susan Greene
Denver Post Columnist

Posted: 10/22/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT

It takes a special something to become the first and only member of George W. Bush’s Cabinet investigated formally for criminal corruption.

That distinction goes to Colorado’s own Gale Norton.

I write not to inflict more infamy on the former interior secretary as federal grand jury subpoenas make their way into her mailbox.

Rather, it’s worth noting how far the Interior Department has come since Norton, her successor and their one-time boss, the former oilman turned president, were giving away oil-shale leases like samples at Costco. read more

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Gale Norton at centre of corruption inquiry over oil-shale awards to Shell

Times Online

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Carl Mortished World Business Editor

read more

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