The federal judge who struck down the Obama administration's moratorium on deepwater drilling after the Gulf oil spill held the Interior Department in contempt Wednesday, and ordered the federal agency to pay attorneys' fees for several offshore oil companies.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman chided the department for its "dismissive conduct" after he overturned the agency's decision to halt any new permits for deepwater projects and suspend drilling on 33 exploratory wells after the Deepwater Horizon blast, which killed 11 workers and triggered the massive spill.
After Feldman overturned the government's moratorium in June, the agency issued a second nearly identical suspension.
"Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the reimposition of a second blanket and substantively identical moratorium and in light of the national importance of this case, provide this court with clear and convincing evidence of the government's contempt of this court's preliminary injunction order," he wrote.
A magistrate will consider how much the companies' attorneys should get.
An Interior Department spokeswoman wouldn't comment. A lawyer for the companies hailed the ruling.
AllHailhell great leader Obama.
This is my favorite story of the day. The start of an avalanche.
The Obama Administration acted in contempt by continuing its deepwater-drilling moratorium after the policy was struck down, a New Orleans judge ruled.
Interior Department regulators acted with “determined disregard†by lifting and reinstituting a series of policy changes that restricted offshore drilling, following the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, U.S. District Judge, Martin Feldman of New Orleans ruled yesterday.
“Each step the government took following the court’s imposition of a preliminary injunction showcases its defiance,†Feldman said in the ruling.
“Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the re-imposition of a second blanket and substantively identical moratorium, and in light of the national importance of this case, provide this court with clear and convincing evidence of the government’s contempt,†Feldman said.
Link (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-03/u-s-administration-in-contempt-over-gulf-drill-ban-judge-rules.html)
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Obama, you weren't born with the sense God gave the common dog.
--Me borrowing from Dan Akroyd's Sgt. Joe Friday in "Dragnet"
Hi,
What really pisses me off is this. The judge is totally correct so the government gets fined. Who pays for it? Us hard working stiffs of course through our tax dollars. It should come out of the pay of Obama and the department that chooses to ignore the law. Hell it is easy to ignore the law when the adverse consequences will not effect us personally.
Maybe the judge should consider some jail time then we will see just how they react.
regards,
5412