Gaw-lee! Top Jindal Aide Suddenly Realizes $200K Halliburton Fine Won't Do Jack Shit
Gov. Bobby Jindal's top coastal restoration official Thursday raised questions about the $200,000 fine proposed for oil-field giant Halliburton Energy Services, just hours after U.S. Sen. John McCain said the "paltry" fine wouldn't deter destruction of evidence, which is the offense Halliburton is expected to admit in court next month.
Garret Graves, chairman of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, urged a federal judge to "take a hard look" at a plea deal between Halliburton and the Justice Department that would impose the $200,000 fine and three years of probation. Under the deal, Halliburton would plead guilty to a single misdemeanor count of computer fraud involving employees erasing results of computer model tests after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.
"While it is clear that BP should be the primary focus of this trial, the fine here raises some questions," Graves said in an e-mail message referring to the Halliburton plea agreement.
McCain's criticism came in a letter Thursday asking U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to justify the proposed fine. The senator also asked Holder to explain whether Halliburton's plea deal would prevent prosecuting company officials, "including managers," for "ordering the destruction of key evidence."
EDIT
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/08/gov_bobby_jindal_top_coastal_o.html#incart_river
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