Griles Gets Married To Former Justice Official

Stephen Griles, the former number two official at the Interior Department who pleaded guilty recently to lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has married his girlfriend, Sue Ellen Wooldridge, according to GOP insiders.

This is significant because Woolridge made the papers a couple of months ago when it was revealed that she, Griles, and a top oil-industry lobbyist had bought a vacation home together in March 2006. Wooldridge, a former assistant attorney general in charge of environment and natural resources, nine months later approved a consent decree that allowed lobbyist Don Duncan's firm, ConocoPhillips, more time to clean up pollution at its sites. Wooldridge left Justice in January, and the vacation-home deal was publicly reported a month later by The Associated Press.

 Griles could not be reached for comment.

Griles pleaded guilty to lying to the Senate Indian Affairs Commttee over his relationship with Abramoff, and he now faces a 10-month prison sentence, half of which would be served in home confinement.