Navajo Nation Council removes AG Ethel Branch from her post

Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch Ethel Branch. (Photo by Pauly Denetclaw/ICT)

The Navajo Nation Council fired Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch during a special session held on Monday.

The council approved legislative action to remove Branch as the Navajo Nation attorney general on a vote of 13-6, according to a press release.

The measure, known as Legislation 0242-24, was sponsored by Law and Order Committee Chair Eugenia Charles-Newton. The bill did not outline the reasons for removing Branch from her post.

The bill was placed on a consent agenda during the Navajo Nation Council’s special session. It was approved without any discussion on the council floor.

The attorney general is appointed by the Navajo Nation president and confirmed by the Navajo Nation Council. However, according to Title II of the Navajo Nation Code, the attorney general and deputy attorney general “shall serve at the pleasure of the Navajo Nation Council.”

In the event of the attorney general’s removal, tribal law states that the deputy attorney general serves as interim attorney general until the council approves a permanent replacement based on the recommendation of the tribal president.

Navajo Nation Deputy Attorney General Heather L. Clah will serve as interim attorney general. Clah has 18 years of legal experience, including working as the corporate attorney for the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority and legal counsel for former Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly.

In a Facebook post on Monday morning, Branch urged her supporters to push back against the legislation to remove her from office and asked people to speak up if they disagreed with the council’s action.

“Thank you to the kind individuals who believe in fairness, due process, and stability of the Navajo Nation and are fighting to overturn the arbitrary legislation to remove me for doing my job,” Branch wrote.

This is the second time Branch, a Leupp native and Harvard Law School graduate, served as attorney general for the Navajo Nation. Her first term, from 2015 until 2019, was part of former Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye’s administration.

The removal of Branch comes shortly after she released the preliminary investigation report for the sexual harassment and misconduct allegations made by Navajo Nation Vice President Richelle Montoya against Navajo Nation Buu Nygren. After an eight-month investigation, the sexual harassment claims were ruled as “not warranted.”

In a statement from his office, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren expressed disappointment in the Navajo Nation Council’s vote to remove Branch as attorney general without providing a reason.

He said the council’s actions to remove the highest legal officer of the Navajo Nation without explaining why sends an “unmistakable message” that the Navajo Nation government is “unstable, unreliable and subject to political tampering by a legislature that oversteps its policy-making role.”

Nygren expressed concern that Branch’s removal would diminish the Navajo Nation’s initiatives before Congress, such as the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act and RECA amendments.

“Attorney General Branch has done an exemplary job that was clearly was unappreciated by this council,” he said.

This story has been updated with comments from President Buu Nygren.

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