The Wall Street Journal reported that BP has plead guilty to criminal charges for the Deepwater Horizon disaster and will pay $4.5 billion in fines and restitution.
Under the agreement, BP said it will plead guilty to 11 felony counts of “seaman’s manslaughter” relating to the deaths aboard the drilling rig, admitting that its workers were negligent when they misinterpreted a key well safety test.
The company also will plead guilty to one felony count of obstruction of Congress stemming from false information it gave about the rate that oil was leaking from the well.
In addition to the settlement Thursday, three former BP employees were charged by a federal grand jury with felonies in the incident, two of them for allegedly failing to carry out a critical safety test properly.
Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West said the government will continue to vigorously pursue its civil claims that BP committed “gross negligence” when it allowed nearly five million barrels of crude to escape from the deep-water well. (Read More)
The company is still facing up to another $20 billion or more in fines in the civil proceedings. I’m just wondering if BP is guilty of criminal charges for negligence, why isn’t anyone in the government, Eric Holder included, guilty in the case of Operation Fast a Furious? A lot more people were killed by the botched gun-walking fiasco. Yet, we hardly even hear about that anymore. And why is nobody in the Obama administration guilty of negligence in leaving Ambassador Chris Stevens and the other Americans in Benghazi with no security when they knew an attack was imminent? It’s disgusting that those in government aren’t held to the same standards as the rest of us.
Speaking of Benghazi, check out the latest on that mess at The Other McCain. After Obama’s feigned outrage yesterday over questions on Susan Rice, the White House released the talking points given to her by the CIA before she was trotted out on the Sunday shows after the 9/11 attack. Gee, do you think the timing was deliberate considering that it was released just before the current and former CIA directors were scheduled to testify before Congress?
How can Obama be held accountable for anything? He hasn’t DONE ANYTHING!!! You can bet your bottom dollar that he won’t do anything GOOD in his next term either. I didn’t specify the time frame either, because the more he works out on the golf course, the greater the chances of him getting konked on the head by an errant tee shot! Oh, the everyday challenges a president must face!!
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@lonelycon how can that be? Why? Everyone should be held accountable.
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This Administration can get away with anything they want. Who’s going to hold their feet to the fire? Certainly not the Republican “Leadership!” They’re to busy hiding in the cloakroom.
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If memory serves me I think that The Regime dragged its feet making the call to either burn it off or use the oil dispersant, probably to maximize eco-damage. Benghazi kind of follows suit. Their M.O. seems to have a pattern: There’s a crisis, they wait to see how much political capital they can squeeze out of it and then make a decision and or lie about the results; life takes a back seat and “friends” become scapegoats and get thrown under the bus.
Haiti, Oil Spill, Bin Laden, Benghazi, Sandy. I’m sure I missed a few.
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[...] BP Held Accountable For Gulf Oil Spill, Obama Administration Held Accountable For Nothing [...]
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My reaction to BP being in the news again: Lest we forget, Barack Obama’s fingerprints were all over that disaster…
1. Obama biggest recipient of BP cash — POLITICO.com
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36783.html
2. In ironic twist, BP finalist for pollution prevention award — CNN.com
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/30/in-ironic-twist-bp-finalist-for-pollution-prevention-award/
3. Obama Interior Department gave Deepwater Horizon Operators Safety Award
http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Interior_Department_Gave_Deepwater_Horizon_Operators_Safety_Award_in_2009_100501
4. And yet another award: Obama Interior Department postpones Safety Awards luncheon that included BP
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/03/interior-dept-postpones-luncheon-honoring-safety-measures-offshore-oil-gas/
SPECIAL NOTE: The Interior Department’s official website has “awards” tabs for every year of the Obama administration… except 2010. They call that transparency.
http://www.doi.gov/archive/greening/awards/index.html
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Remember how the oil puked up all over the Gulf shores while Obama partied and golfed and vacationed for weeks on end? I do.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8fd_1275603611
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The Interior Department, Mineral Mining Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and EPA came out looking like a dozen roses. Collected $ 14 billion in offshore leases annually but gave companies inspection waivers. Coast Guard sank an oil platform intentionally to hide the evidence. Barry didn’t implement the National Oil Spill Response Act. EPA allowed the use of unapproved dispersants. Al Gore Clean Water companies profited. More government agencies and regulations were created. U.S. Deepwater Drilling was put on hold and sent rigs to Brazilian and African locations. Oil companies were smeared and we’re still dependent on the Mideast. But Barry gave 4 leasing tracts to Russia 50 miles off our Gulf shore and Alaskan oil, gas, mining rights. And China is transporting oil off our Pacific coast from Canada.
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Jon Corzine seems to be forgotten. But he only fleeced his investors of over a billion dollars. His name in litigation is like spending cuts in the economic discussion. We are a pathetic country.
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Bullseye!! We pay big $$ for the Feds to monitor this stuff but when there’s a screw-up, they head for the tall grass.
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Oops, meant to credit MrsPhartootski in my “Bullseye” comment.
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