DOJ Slams Energy Dept ($47.7 million) Contract to Law Firm (conflicts of interest issue)

[sabra]

Source: ABC News


Letter Warns That Contract Could Jeopardize Opening of Nuclear Waste Repository

The Justice Department is asking tough questions about a multi-million-dollar contract awarded by the Energy Department to a law firm, warning that conflicts of interest could delay the opening of the country's largest nuclear waste repository.

The firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, which was awarded a four-year $47.7 million contract to shepherd the licensing for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, has acknowledged conflicts of interest on nuclear waste issues since it has represented more than a dozen utilities that have sued the agency.

The firm was granted a waiver from DOE rules on conflicts of interest and agreed to a plan "that would mitigate any conflict to the maximum extent practicable," according to an April report by the DOE's Inspector General.

But in a sharply-worded letter obtained by ABC News, a top Justice Department official criticized the Energy Department's failure to consult with DOJ and cautioned that the contract could jeopardize the opening of the long-delayed repository which would store the country's nuclear waste.

...

A spokesman for Senate Marjority Leader Harry Reid told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that it was suspicious "that DOE went around the DOJ on a legal matter related to the largest government contract for legal services in history."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5247042&page=1

[Supersedeas]

1. the breadth and magnitude of the cronyism is just astounding