Thomas Sansonetti
Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources

Then: As a member of the law firm Holland and Hart, Sansonetti lobbied on behalf of corporate mining interests, including Arch Coal and Peabody Coal. Since 1998, he has been a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative libertarian property rights group, which has opposed federal regulations under many environmental laws.

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Now: Sansonetti is behind the Department of Justice's decisions to settle a string of lawsuits, giving up the government's legal right to protect millions of acres of wetlands and wilderness. Of his colleague Gale Norton, Sansonetti has said, "She understands the system. She is very good on national park issues and on Endangered Species Act law. There won't be any biologists or botanists...to come in and pull the wool over her eyes."

© 2003 The Foundation for National Progress

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