FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2010
Police remove protester
Diane Wilson from a House subcommittee hearing as BP chief executive Tony Hayward prepares to testify. “You need to be charged with a crime!” she shouted to Hayward.
RICKY CARIOTI/THE WASHINGTON POST
KLMNO
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Gulf Coast Oil Spill oil from A1
sat alone at the witness table, sur- rounded by two dozen photogra- phers. “I do not want to live in a country where anytime a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong is sub- ject to some sort of political pres- sure that is, again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.” Reaction was swift. Condemna-
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tions came from fellow committee members, White House spokes- man Robert Gibbs, environmen- tal groups and the liberal Center for American Progress. Vice President Biden said Bar-
ton’s comments were “incredibly insensitive, incredibly out of touch.” “There’s no shakedown,” Biden said angrily. “It’s insisting on re- sponsible conduct and a responsi- ble response to something they
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caused.” Republicans were no more sup-
portive. House GOP leaders John A. Boehner (Ohio), Eric Cantor (Va.) and Mike Pence (Ind.) all dis- tanced themselves from Barton. “Congressman Barton’s state- ments this morning were wrong,” they said in a statement. “BP itself has acknowledged that responsi- bility for the economic damages lies with them and has offered an initial pledge of $20 billion for
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A9 A day of apologies, anger at oil-spill hearing
that purpose.” AGOP leadership aide said that
Barton met with Boehner and Cantor in the afternoon and was told to “apologize, immediately. Or you will lose your position, im- mediately.” Before the hearing ended, Barton had done so. “I apologize for using the term
‘shakedown’ with regard to yes- terday’s actions at the White House in my opening statement this morning, and I retract my apology to BP,” he said in a state- ment. “As I told my colleagues yes- terday and said again this morn- ing, BP should bear the full finan- cial responsibility for the accident on their lease in the Gulf of Mexi- co.”
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But the political damage was done. Democratic groups noted that the Republican Study Com- mittee had issued a statement Wednesday night saying the es- tablishment of the escrow fund “suggests that the Obama Admin- istration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shake- down politics. These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control.” David Donnelly of the Cam- paign for Fair Elections said cam- paign finance records show that Barton, who was elected to Con- gress in 1984, has received $27,350 in campaign contribu- tions from people and political ac- tion committees associated with BP and $1.4 million from the oil and gas industry as a whole. The dustup obscured what was supposed to be the day’s main event: a showdown between Hay- ward and the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations. Committee members tried to bore in on the question of BP’s culpability in the accident that set off the spill on April 20 in the gulf. Lawmakers said the company made decisions that appeared to be dangerous and defied the ad- vice of its own experts. They asked Hayward whether he felt “ac- countable” and whether he should step down as chief exec- utive. And they castigated him for decisions taken for cost-cutting reasons.
“BP made choices that set safe-
ty aside in exchange for cost- cutting and time-saving deci- sions,” said Rep. Bart Stupak (D- Mich.), the subcommittee chair- man.
“If there is any evidence people put cost ahead of safety, then I will take action,” Hayward said. The BP chief, whose responses remained measured all day, re- fused to betray his opinion about the documents and testimony the committee had accumulated. “Our investigation is ongoing.
It’s not complete,” he told Stupak. “I think it’s too early to reach con- clusions, with respect, Mr. Chair- man.”
When some lawmakers accused him of evading tough questions, Hayward said he was “not stone- walling. I simply was not involved in the decision-making process.” Pressed about whether he knew about the extensive problems dril- ling engineers were having with the well before it blew out, Hay- ward said he had “no prior knowl- edge” of them. He added: “With respect, sir, we drill hundreds of wells a year all around the world.” “Yes, I know,” replied Rep. Mi- chael C. Burgess (R-Tex.). “That’s what’s scaring me right now.” The hearing was interrupted by
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House votes on financial reform and once by a woman who ap- peared to have black oil smeared on her hands and face. Just after Hayward was sworn in, the wom- an, identified as Diane Wilson, stood up and started shouting, “You need to be charged with a crime!” Police officers struggled to remove her from the room. At 5:30 p.m., 71
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hours after the
hearing began, Stupak told Hay- ward: “The evasiveness of your answers only served to increase the frustration, not decrease the frustration, not only of members of Congress but of the American people.”
mufsons@washpost.com
Staff writers Scott Wilson, Paul Kane and Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.
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