Staff Reports
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — In a June 8 press release, the Navajo Nation Council stated that President Buu Nygren and Chief Legal Counsel Bidtah Becker failed to appear at a public investigatory hearing after being subpoenaed to provide testimony regarding housing contracts involving ZenniHomes and Indigenous Design Studio + Architects.
The hearing was intended to examine the procurement process followed, contract performance, invoicing, payments, reporting requirements, and compliance with Navajo Nation laws, policies, and funding agreements related to housing projects.
Approximately 12 minutes before the hearing began, Acting Deputy Attorney General JoAnn Jayne issued an attorney-client privileged letter and memorandum advising subpoenaed witnesses not to attend or testify.
Jayne, who appeared at the hearing, said she issued the memorandum because the Department of Justice was not provided a list of clients and individuals subpoenaed. When asked by Budget and Finance Committee Vice-Chair Carl R. Slater whether she had at any time requested such a list from the Office of the Speaker of the Office of Legislative Counsel, Jayne said she had not.
Witnesses subpoenaed for the hearing include Nygren, Becker, Kris Beecher, Katherine Belzowski, Sage Metoxen, Alfreida Nez, Candice Yazzie, Alray Nelson, Dominic Beyal, Robert Willie, Sean McCabe, Patrick Sandoval, Arbin Mitchell, Alva Tom, and George (aka Jorge) Cordova.
According to 2 N.N.C. §§ 164 and 300-305, the Budget and Finance Committee has statutory authority to conduct investigatory hearings and issue subpoenas under 2 N.N.C. § 185(B).
Slater asked Jayne to explain DOJ’s decision to advise witnesses not to participate in the hearing, but she said she would discuss the matter only in executive session.
As Acting Deputy Attorney General, Jayne said she is responsible for providing legal counsel to all three branches of the Navajo Nation government.
“What are your obligations to advise the BFC as you became aware of the legislation and subpoenas?” Slater asked. “What obligations did DOJ have to provide guidance to the Committee?”
Jayne again said she would discuss the matter only in executive session.
Slater expressed concern that attorney-client privilege is being cited too broadly to prevent the public from hearing information related to the ISDA and ZenniHomes contracts and funds to be examined during the hearing.
“We’ve received no counsel from DOJ and we are a client of DOJ as well,” Slater said. “This isn’t a political exercise. The legislation authorizing these hearings was approved in August 2025 (July 2025). You’re evading discussion of these issues.”
On June 4, President Nygren filed an application for a Temporary Restraining Order, Preliminary Injunction, and Motion to Stay the BFC investigatory hearings.
The Office of Legislative Counsel maintains that the filing is an improper collateral attack that repeats arguments previously dismissed by the Window Rock District Court with Judge Malcom Begay presiding. The Court held that it lacked jurisdiction over challenges to the Special Prosecutor appointment.
“Today’s hearing is about transparency and accountability,” Council Delegate Cherilyn Yazzie said. “The Navajo people deserve clear answers about why $24 million in housing contracts is unaccounted for and how decisions were made within the Executive Branch. The effort to stop today’s hearing is the President’s attempt to block public oversight.”
Immediately after the BFC Hearing recessed, a Notice of Hearing was issued notifying parties that a preliminary injunction hearing to address the president’s filing for a TRO will take place June 9 at 4 pm at the Window Rock District Court in Fort Defiance, Ariz.
Follwing the Navajo Nation Council’s press release, Nygren released a statement of his own, in which he called the Council’s statement that he and other Navajo Nation employees failed to appear at the BFC hearing is “wholly inaccurate and another example of dishonesty from the President’s detractors.”
Nygren restated that he and others chose not to attend the meeting after legal guidance from the DOJ until a resolution of the legal concerns was reached.
“Rather than presenting the facts, the Council chose to advance a misleading narrative designed to generate headlines, inflame public suspicion, and create the false impression of misconduct where none has been established,” Nygren said. “The Navajo people deserve honest oversight rooted in facts and the law—not political theater disguised as accountability.”
