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Crying for BP

Given the amount of anger, rancor and frustration aimed at BP in the two months since their Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig exploded and began spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, it’s somewhat shocking that anyone would rush to the defense of the giant oil company. And yet that is what a few politicians, both American and British, are starting to do as the Obama Administration begins a long effort to extract billions of dollars from BP to pay for the clean up and relief effort along the Gulf Coast. First Rep. Joe Barton from Texas apologized to the CEO of BP during today’s tense hearings in the House; then the governor of Mississippi questioned the logic of penalizing BP to the point of possible bankruptcy. Can BP possibly be viewed as a victim in this oil spill mess? And how much money will the government be able to get from BP, through civil and criminal cases, and how much of that will be funneled to the small businesses and other victims in states like Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi?

Guests:

Jake Sherman, congressional reporter for POLITICO

Stanley Alpert, Of Counsel to New York law firm Constantine Cannon; former Chief of Environmental Litigation for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York