Recent letter (a week or so old) to the bipartisan committee (with two members from Louisiana) asking Salazar for MMS inspection records for the Horizon. (There probably aren't any). Looks like the committee is targeted Salazar for political execution, knowing that given the lax oversight of the MMS, what they receive (If anything) will be so horrendously wrong there's no way Salazar can dodge the political fallout.
Salazar should resign, or he'll damage the administration once this all comes out. Both he and Obama made a lot of noise about Salazar being the new "sheriff in town" and how Salazar would kick ass and take names. But apparently he didn't, which might be why Obama is looking for "whose ass to kick." He should start with Salazar, who left most Bush era MMS hanky-panky in place. After firing a few people in 2009 and referring a couple for prosecution, Salazar largely turned his back on reform of the MMS, even though that was supposedly one of his higher priorities.
Also, Obama went to a one-on-one interview with Politico, saying that Congress deserves a good portion of the blame (always the blame with this guy) for Horizon. Yet he's doing absolutely NOTHING tp prevent another catastrophe in the Gulf. Some people say this is Obama's Katrina. I disagree. A hurricane isn't preventable. Horizon was.
Salazar's statement in early 2009...
President Obama has immediately set high ethical standards for service in the federal government. He has shown a commitment to reform that will change business as usual in Washington. He has immediately made clear that the type of ethical transgressions, blatant conflicts of interest, wastes and abuses that we have seen over the last eight years will no longer be tolerated. Nowhere is President Obama’s commitment to reform and to cleaning up the waste, fraud and abuse of the past more important than at the Department of the Interior, which I now lead.
Over the last eight years, the Department of the Interior has been tarnished by ethical lapses and criminal behavior that has extended to the highest levels of government. The former Deputy Secretary of the Department under the Bush administration, Steven Griles, was sent to prison. It is the department that the American people associate with Jack Abramoff. And it is the department that was tarnished by a scandal involving sex, drugs and inappropriate gifts from oil and gas companies. The Lakewood, Colorado, office of the Minerals Management Service is tasked with making sure that taxpayers collect their fair share from oil and gas development on our public lands. Last year, that office collected $23 billion on behalf of the American taxpayer.
Yet during the last administration, some of the employees of that office violated the public trust by accepting gifts and employment contracts from the oil and gas companies they are supposed to be holding accountable. Some employees engaged in blatant and criminal conflicts of interest and self dealing. It is one of the worst examples of corruption, abuse, and of government putting special interests before the public interest. Tomorrow, I will be traveling to the Lakewood MMS office to meet with employees. I will also be announcing our own review of what happened, what has been done to address it and what additional steps need to be taken.
It will be clear that we will no longer tolerate those types of lapses at any level of government, from political appointees or career employees. This is only the first step of our long-term effort to enact comprehensive, top-to-bottom reform of the Department of Interior. The American people should be proud of their government. Those who work for the government should be proud of their service to the American people. We will work to reform the Department of the Interior, restore the public’s trust and to restore the high level of ethics and accountability that the American people deserve.
