4/24/12, "BP oil spill: First criminal charges filed in US," BBC
"The US justice department has filed the first criminal charges linked to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
A former BP engineer was arrested on charges of intentionally destroying evidence.
Kurt Mix of Katy, Texas, faces two counts of obstruction of justice.
He is accused of trying to delete text messages between himself and a supervisor, in October 2010, containing details about how attempts to cap the leaking well were going.
In a sworn affidavit, FBI special agent Barbara O'Donnell said Mr Mix had "deleted numerous electronic records relating to the Deepwater Horizon disaster response, including records concerning the amount of oil potentially flowing from the well, after being repeatedly informed of his obligation to maintain such records".
Mr Mix, 50, was involved in some of BP's attempts to cap the well, including the unsuccessful Top Kill efforts in May 2010.
Prosecutors say he deleted messages that indicated Top Kill was failing at a time when BP officials were saying publicly that it was broadly proceeding according to plan.
Mr Mix resigned from BP earlier in 2012.
In a statement, BP said it "had clear policies requiring preservation of evidence in this case and has undertaken substantial and ongoing efforts to preserve evidence".
The justice department said Mr Mix would make his first appearance in a Houston federal court later on Tuesday."...
===================Obama's 'presidential' report on the spill acknowledged 'industry wide' problems but took the extra step of noting that Halliburton and Deepwater were present in "every ocean."
McClatchy puts 'industry-wide' in the headline which is all many will see. This isn't even the definitive report, just Obama's whitewash version. His had no subpoena power nor months of sworn testimony (parag. 10).
1/5/11, "Panel: BP well blowout revealed industry-wide problems," McClatchy, Seibel
While acknowledging BP problems, Obama commission co-chair William K. Reilly, a former head of the Environmental protection Agency said:- "Given the documented failings of both Transocean and Halliburton, both of which serve the off shore industry in virtually every ocean, I reluctantly conclude that we have a system-wide problem."
Ed. note: I'm not a fan of Halliburton or Dick Cheney, I just think it's interesting that government will go to any length to avoid addressing actual problems.
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