Official Who Allowed Tree Cutting By Redskins Owner Named National Parks Director : The Two
Paul Daniel Smith
Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the promotion of  Paul Daniel Smith  on Wednesday.
From 2004 to 2015   Smith  was superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park.
 Smith  had previously retired from the park service after 31 years  until  he  was named its deputy director two weeks ago.
It was in  his  role as a special assistant to the park service director that  he  made headlines over a decade ago.
A 2006 investigation by the Interior Department's inspector general found that  Smith  "inappropriately used his position to apply pressure and circumvent NPS procedures" on behalf of Dan Snyder  the owner of the NFL's Washington Redskins. Snyder subsequently cut down more than 130 trees on federally protected land between his house and the C&O Canal.
Investigators could not corroborate  Smith 's account of the events that led to the decision to allow the tree-cutting and said that  he  contradicted  himself  in separate interviews.
The U.S. attorney's office declined to prosecute  Smith  for providing false statements to investigators  citing lack of prosecutorial merit  according to the report.
 Smith  defended  his  actions to The Washington Post in 2006. "It was a legitimate request by a landowner who had a legitimate issue with the Park Service "  he  said.
Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the promotion of  [TGT] on Wednesday.
From 2004 to 2015   Smith  was superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park.
  [TGT] had previously retired from the park service after 31 years  until   [TGT]   was named its deputy director two weeks ago.
It was in  his  role as a special assistant to the park service director that  he  made headlines over a decade ago.
A 2006 investigation by the Interior Department's inspector general found that   [TGT] "inappropriately used his position to apply pressure and circumvent NPS procedures" on behalf of Dan Snyder  the owner of the NFL's Washington Redskins. Snyder subsequently cut down more than 130 trees on federally protected land between his house and the C&O Canal.
Investigators could not corroborate   [TGT]  's account of the events that led to the decision to allow the tree-cutting and said that  he  contradicted  himself  in separate interviews.
The U.S. attorney's office declined to prosecute   [TGT]   for providing false statements to investigators  citing lack of prosecutorial merit  according to the report.
  [TGT] defended   [TGT]   actions to The Washington Post in 2006. "It was a legitimate request by a landowner who had a legitimate issue with the Park Service "  he  said.