Joe Barton Apologizes for BP Shakedown Comments

New York (GaeaTimes.com) Republican Joe Barton, ranking member of the House Energy Committee, apologized for his BP shakedown comments. Joe Barton reportedly said,

I think it is a tragedy in the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown — in this case a $20 billion shakedown — with the attorney general of the United States, who is legitimately conducting a criminal investigation and has every right to do so to protect the American people, participating in what amounts to a $20 billion slush fund that’s unprecedented in our nation’s history, which has no legal standing, which I think sets a terrible precedent for our nation’s future.

In his apology Joe Barton said,

I’m ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday

Joe Barton added,

I do not want to live in a county where anytime a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, [it is] subject to some sort of political pressure that, again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown.

Whatever the situation is with Joe Barton, Obama clearly scored a political victory by pressing BP to commit for $20 billion damages for the environmental disaster. BP’s agreement yesterday established the compensation fund. They would temporarily suspend dividends and Gulf residents would begin filing claims for their losses. BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg apologized for the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. He promised that the company would take responsibility. However, the longer term outlook depends on how soon BP can control the oil spill and how much crude tars Gulf Beaches and marshes.