If there is no criminal prosecution of BP and other companies for the April 2010 Gulf oil spill within the next couple of days, there might not be one until mid-November or even next year.
That’s the take of David Uhlmann. Uhlmann is a law professor at the University of Michigan and former head of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.
“Election year politics will play no role in the charging decisions or in any plea discussions,” Uhlmann told Corporate Crime Reporter.“But they will have a major impact on the timing of any criminal prosecution. The Justice Department cares very much about avoiding any appearance of politics influencing criminal prosecutions. What that means in this case is that the next three months probably are off limits for the announcement of charges in the Gulf oil spill.”
The case will not be brought before the election?
“It would be a mistake to bring the case during September and October during the height of the Presidential campaign,” Uhlmann said.
“Everything is seen as political during the height of a Presidential campaign.”
“Unless charges come during the next several days, the earliest we are likely to see criminal charges or settlement is mid to late November and perhaps not until next year.”
Uhlmann says that people who believe that the Justice Department should have brought more cases in the wake of the Wall Street collapse might see a criminal prosecution of BP as a positive for the President.
“But others will interpret criminal prosecution in the Gulf oil spill as the President being hostile to business and the energy sector in particular,” Uhlmann said. “Far from being a potential benefit to the President, the announcement of charges in the Gulf oil spill could be a distraction when the President wants to stay on message and not be forced to talk about a crisis that occurred in the middle of his presidency.”
Uhlmann says that the Department should have brought criminal charges against the companies and individuals involved in the Gulf oil spill by now.
“There is no reason the case could not have been charged within the first two years after the spill,” Uhlmann said. “There are a lot of engineering complexities involved in understanding exactly what caused the spill. Whether any individuals should be held criminally responsible for the spill is a difficult question. But the basic contours of the criminal case against BP, Transocean, and Halliburton is not complicated at all. It’s a straightforward negligence case under the Clean Act and the Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute and a strict liability case under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.”
“Those charges could have and should have been brought within 12 to 18 months,” Uhlmann said. “By waiting more than two years to bring criminal charges, the Justice Department has lost the sense of urgency that the Gulf oil spill case demanded. Public attention has moved on to other matters, which will reduce the deterrent value of the case when it is finally charged.”