Obama Warns Legal Action If Laws Were Broken in BP Oil Spill

Posted in BP British Petroleum,Deepwater Horizon,Environment,Government,Gulf Coast,Transocean on June 1, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC – Obama met with former Senator Bob Graham of Florida and William Reilly, former administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Rose Garden, Tuesday, June, 1, 2010. They will lead the national commission on the BP oil spill in the gulf which is now the greatest environmental disaster in our history.

Obama plans to prosecute if laws were broken in BP oil spill

“If our laws were broken, leading to this death and destruction, my solemn pledge is that we will bring those responsible to justice on behalf of the victims of this catastrophe and the people of the Gulf region,” Obama said in the Rose Garden after a meeting with the co-chairmen of a commission he named to look into the spill and the future of drilling off U.S. coasts.

WATCH VIDEO

Obama’s talk of legal action against those involved in the spill came as the White House launched a new offensive Tuesday aimed at convincing Americans that the federal government is responding more aggressively to the continuing oil spill in the Gulf.

Also, Attorney General Eric Holder made his first trip to the region. Holder was scheduled to tour the damage and meet with state and federal prosecutors.

The Justice Department has not disclosed any criminal investigation, but lawyers say it is a near certainty given the scope of the destruction and the 11 workers killed when the rig exploded and sank on April 22.

Obama pledged that the commission, to be headed by former Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and former Environmental Protection Agency chief William Reilly, would get to the bottom of what caused the blowout.

“In doing this work, they have my full support to follow the facts wherever they may lead, without fear or favor. And I am directing them to report back in six months with options for how we can prevent and mitigate the impact of any future spills that result from offshore drilling,” the president said.

Oil that has washed up on our beach front property. Worsened the next day — beach was closed to everyone. Grand Isle, La. Credit: Katherine Bourg

The effort to quickly find out what happened and the effort to prosecute any crimes that were committed could be at odds. At least one BP official, rig manager Robert Kaluza, took the Fifth Amendment last week to avoid testifying at a government hearing into the disaster. It’s possible that more rumblings about potential criminal prosecutions could prompt more of those involved to invoke their right to remain silent.

In addition, the commission Obama named lacks subpoena power, though it may be able to get information subpoenaed by other government agencies.

Obama and other officials have asserted that the government recognized the full potential of the spill from “Day One” and that federal agencies have been fully empowered to respond. However, Obama conceded last week that personnel haven’t reached oil-affected shoreline as quickly as they should have. He ordered the Coast Guard to triple the number of people assigned to tackle that part of the disaster.

“What’s being threatened, what’s being lost, isn’t just the source of income but a way of life, not just fishable waters but a national treasure. There are now more than 20,000 men and women in the region working around the clock to contain and clean up the oil,” Obama said Tuesday.

“We’ve authorized more than 17,000 National Guard members to respond across four states. More than 1,700 vessels are currently aiding in the response and will ensure that any and all responsible means of containing this leak are pursued as we await the completion of the two relief wells,” he said.

Later Tuesday, Adm. Thad Allen, the Coast Guard officer and federal commander for the response to the spill, held the first of what officials say will be a daily, solo briefing on the crisis.

The plan to put Allen front and center each day reflects the administration’s desire to designate a main official as the voice of the federal response. Since Allen briefs in uniform, it also allows the administration to give an authoritative, military air to the government’s actions.

The intensified communications effort by the administration came as the most recent effort to shut down the well, a so-called top kill procedure, failed over the weekend.

Putting Allen out front also shunts BP’s officials off the stage and could reduce the perception that the federal government and BP are equals working cordially together.

Of course, BP is under no obligation to keep quiet. Indeed, BP said its chief operating officer, Doug Suttles, would speak with reporters Tuesday morning as he toured a floating tent city for workers responding to the spill and a walking tour of the floating hotel and tent lodging for response workers in Port Fourchon, La. A Coast Guard captain was also scheduled to take part in the event, a release said.

As Obama called for justice for those injured by the spill, he also emphasized that any failure in government regulation was likely due to a “far-too-cozy relationship” between regulators and the oil industry that began before his administration took control in 2009.

“When Interior Secretary Ken Salazar took office, for example, he found a Minerals Management Service that had been plagued by corruption for years, corruption that was underscored by a recent inspector general’s report that uncovered appalling activity that took place before last year,” the president said.

Original Source: Politico