Tribal Council votes to impeach Cherokee chief

CHEROKEE - The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council voted Thursday to impeach Principal Chief Patrick Lambert, marking only the second time since the early 1800s that the tribe has forced a chief from office. 

Lambert had faced an array of allegations made in 12 impeachment articles, including that he used his office for personal gain.

Council members found Lambert to have committed impeachable offenses as spelled out in eight of those articles.

Those included that he entered a contract with the Harrah's Cherokee Casino to benefit himself, signed contracts without approval from the tribe’s budget committee, failed to get an organizational chart change approved by the Tribal Council, used improper hiring practices, hired attorneys for his personal benefit and called for audits on tribal offices.

Accusations against the chief included that he entered a contract in which the casino would rent rooms from a hotel he owns.

The Tribal Council needed to agree to only one article to impeach the chief, according to the rules of the special impeachment hearing. 

Tribal Council members deliberated for an hour Wednesday before recessing until noon Thursday. They announced their decision shortly after 3:30 p.m. and voted 9-3 to approve an impeachment resolution.

Vice Chief Richard Sneed was later sworn in as the new principal chief.

The impeachment hearing was expected to take one day, but stretched into four as the special prosecutor Robert Saunooke called 10 witnesses and Scott Jones, representing Lambert, called four witnesses. 

The Tribal Council issued 30 subpoenas ahead of the hearing, which was at times marked by emotional testimony and outburts from people attending the proceedings.

About 15 supporters of Lambert marched out of tribal chambers after the vote to impeach him. 

Following the impeachment decision, Lambert stood in front of tribal offices and addressed about 50 people standing in the parking lot. 

"What we just saw today was nine people," he said. "How many people in this crowd support me? I think those nine overruled 71 percent of this tribe." 

Lambert said he would respect the council's decision.

"I'm not angry about the impeachment," he said. "We need to stop fighting." 

Lambert testified for nearly six hours, answering questions from his attorney and Saunooke. Tribal Council members questioned him for an hour Wednesday afternoon.  

The impeachment articles did not reference one issue that Lambert said he believes led to the impeachment proceedings – an FBI investigation prompted by an external audit he ordered.

Lambert won the office of principal chief in 2015 with more than 70 percent of the vote and after assuming office ordered independent audits of tribal programs, including Qualla Housing Authority. 

The agency has received $55.8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1998 to 2016.

Lambert before the hearing this week had called the impeachment effort a “witch hunt.” He is an attorney who served as the executive director of the Tribal Gaming Commission for 22 years. 

Cherokee resident Sylvester Crowe, who supports Lambert, also called the impeachment hearing a witch hunt. 

“I don’t think they should have started this,” he said. “It’s a witch hunt and a way to get back at somebody."

Crowe also pointed the investigation into the housing authority.

Saunooke argued that Lambert did not follow the laws of the tribe and instead cherry picked which ones he followed. 

"There are no exceptions to laws," he said. 

Saunooke said Lambert had three months to prepare for the hearing and his answers to the allegations brought against him were not answers. 

"All I get is Patrick Lambert up here saying I don’t remember, I don't know or I’m not responsible,” Saunooke said during his closing argument Wednesday afternoon.

Lambert told Tribal Council members he has worked to provide services to the tribe and has received no personal benefit, other than gratitude for serving his people. He also said he has served the tribe to his best ability in his nearly two years in office. 

Jones, asked him during the impeachment hearing whether he had done anything to gain improper personal benefits since taking office October 2015.

“Short of receiving the pay allotted for the position, no,” Lambert said.

Jones and Lambert both argued that the allegations were not impeachable offenses. 

"There is no evidence that he committed impeachable offenses," Jones said in his closing argument. "He’s done the best of his ability to provide services and protect the charter. 

Cherokee resident, Mary Wachacha, who also supports Lambert, agreed. 

"I don’t think that any of the articles that they have submitted that they have proven he did anything wrong," she said. "I think (Tribal Council members) are blowing a lot of smoke, but in reality I don’t think Chief Patrick Lambert has done anything wrong."

Before council made their decision Wachacha said she hoped Lambert would not be impeached, but expected the council to impeach him. 

The Eastern Band of the Cherokee has been led by 27 chiefs since the early 1800s, and in a unanimous 1995 vote, the council voted to impeach and oust one principal chief.

Jonathan "Ed" Taylor, on allegations he solicited bribes and had tribal employees work on his homes and cars while being paid by the tribe.

About tribe has 14,000 members and its land, known as the Qualla Boundary, is a sovereign nation that lies south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.