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Judge Who Overturned Drilling Bans had Shares in the Oil Industry
Martin Feldman, who ruled against Barack Obama's moratorium, accused of conflict of interests
The judge who overturned deepwater drilling bans allowing BP to resume oil extraction in the Gulf of Mexico, had shares in Transocean and other firms in the industry, it was revealed today.
An oil worker's hat lies on a polluted Louisiana beach. The White House is to appeal against the lifting of the drilling ban. (Photograph: Lee Celano/Reuters) Yesterday, a Louisiana-based judge Martin Feldman ruled that Barack Obama's six-month drilling moratorium in the Gulf was unjustified because it assumed that all deepwater drilling was as dangerous as BP's.
The White House promised an immediate appeal.
Meanwhile environmental groups have said Feldman's ruling may have to be rescinded because of the possible conflict of interests.
Feldman's most recent financial disclosure forms show that he was paid dividends from his shares in Transocean, the firm that owned the Deepwater oil rig that exploded in April killing 11 oil workers, prompting America's worst environmental disaster.
The forms, which relate to the calendar year 2008, also show that he sold shares in Halliburton, which was also involved in the disaster.
Feldman's other interests included Ocean Energy, Quicksilver Resources, Prospect Energy, Peabody Energy, Pengrowth Energy Trust, Atlas Energy Resources, and Parker Drilling.
Obama's interior department imposed the moratorium last month in the wake of the BP disaster, halting approval of any new permits for deepwater projects and suspending drilling on 33 exploratory wells.
Feldman has yet to respond to the disclosures. He is one of many federal judges across the Gulf Coast region with money in oil and gas. Several have disqualified themselves from hearing spill-related claims, while others have sold their holdings so they can preside over many cases being filed.
Josh Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group, said the ruling should be rescinded if he still held such shares.
"If Judge Feldman has any investments in oil and gas operators in the Gulf, it represents a flagrant conflict of interest," Reichert said.
At least two major oil companies, Shell and Marathon, said they would wait for the appeal before resuming drilling.
27 Comments so far
Show All"Conflict of Interest", appears now to be as quaint as the Geneva Convention is...
Is there some way to take that quaint notion and use it against the ruling? The judge should have recused himself. Then a long search for another judge without ties to the oil industry. Is there one in Louisiana?
Joe
20 years of no success in trying to find a judge not tied to the oil interests, directly or otherwise. The people in this state are brainwashed and shout "COMMIE" against anyone raising concern on big oil.
Louisiana is a backwards and corrupt state with corrupt judges to the core. Despite BP, people still shout "COMMIE" if I say that putting a moratorium, let alone a ban, on drilling off the Gulf coast. This is why we get such shitty judges.
As for Obama, he doesn't care as long as his reelection coffers get filled.
As of right now, Obama's chances of re-election are effectively *zero*. The Republicans and Tea Party crowd will insure that this debacle is remembered and used to tar any prospective Democrat candidate with the same brush.
The real kicker is that this crime was assured of happening by the eight years of corrupt Corporate lapdog rule of G.W. Bush. That this disaster happened on Obama's watch is just icing on the cake. Just think of how it would have played if McCain/Palin had been at the helm instead of Obama/Biden.
Non Serviam - I will not serve.
"Just think of how it would have played if McCain/Palin had been at the helm instead of Obama/Biden."
Here in Louisiana, most people still love Palin. The conservative women look at her as a "fighting mom" and the conservative men look at her as a "fighting hottie". I am sorry America but this state refuses to elect good leaders and judges. Louisianians used to cheer for Huey Long when he fought against big oil but today any politician who dares stand against big oil is hissed at as a "commie" or a "terrorist". They refuse to listen to anyone trying to explain why further drilling isn't worth anymore trouble. I don't know what will make them listen.
"I don't know what will make them listen."
A hurricane blowing oil right through their bedroom? A toxic rain laced with Corexit 9500 that poisons their children? Or the complete economic devastation once BP and the Government walk away from the cleanup zone once the 'hole to hell' is over, taking all the temporary workers with them?
It would probably be best to just let them inbreed to the point of madness and sterility.
Non Serviam - I will not serve.
Hurricane Katrina has made them more pro-Church fundie and anti-government. If the state ends up being much closer to submersion, my wife and I will be leaving Shreveport for good.
galen
you got that right. good points. these may be the only things that will wake up these right wing a holes down here. i live down in galveston tx and a powerful hurricane could spread that toxic shit all along the entire gulf coast. hmm lets see what kind of environment we will have then. come on right wing dick brains lets hear the "drill baby drill" chant.
i am orginally from the NYC area and if this area turns into a toxic shit hole because of this i would have no problem moving back to ny.
Is anybody with 1/2 a brain surprised by this ruling or the obvious problems with conservative judicial activism? It's not just Louisiana, either. It is the corporate corruption of voting for judges and electing them with huge political contributions from same. What group can fight against the major industries of a region and not face a huge backlash from the profiteers and their political lackeys? The fact we are entirely in the belly of a corrupt beast, otherwise known as " the political economy ", should not surprise any progressive thinker. Yet, amazingly, it still gets the MSM whitewash and the " Shocking, I say! " coverage exhibited here. The judge is a fluffer for Big Oil. That's the real an ongoing tragic story here. Again, same as it ever was!
Conservative activism dictates that in matters of war we be proactive in our doubt and warn against the evidence being "a mushroom cloud in the sky," but for profiteering oil corporations we must stifle our doubts and dismiss our ungenerous suspicions. Then even when the evidence of plumes and tar balls in the water become undeniable, we may nonetheless maintain safe and comfortable convictions in the honesty and integrity of our corporations and find a way for them to continue to prosper.
The ethics of belief.
http://coyotesings.wordpress.com/
"... because it assumed that all deepwater drilling was as dangerous as BP's."
No, the moratorium assumes that we can't know this without verification. The judge's decision (in addition to other's observations here) makes the assumption the other way, namely that drilling is safe until proven otherwise.
The judge has faith that the other wells are just fine. In many peoples minds, faith/opinion = reality and there is nothing you can say to them that can change their mind about that misguided belief.
This judge is one of the ones appointed under good old Ronnie Raygun. He has links to the oil industry going WAY back.
Corporatism - The gift that keeps on giving... back to the Corporations.
Non Serviam - I will not serve.
The Democrats deserve to get thumped in 2012, I hope they
do. So what if Palin or whoever wins
There is only one way the Democrat Party is ever going to
get reformed,,,,make them cry uncle..........
Pray for their defeats....
Help defeat them.........
hope they lose the next two cycles.....
don't vote for them.............
right now they believe voters will vote for them regardless..
they take liberals votes for granted.............
lets break them of that................
Hope and pray those criminals lose................
they are going to get thumped in 2012.............
I am one who will be voting green..............
don't care if republicans win.....................
it is more important to reform the dem party..............
don't be fooled by a Whitehouse or Grayson................
You all were fooled by Obama.................
don't let them make an ass out of you again..........
We need to take it a step further than that:
The corporate media directed public relations dog and pony show that we call "elections" are a farce to begin with. The winner takes all system produces two dominant parties - two evils. Some democratic choice eh? (even in general elections barely half of all eligible voters bother to register and vote)
In addition, money as free speech and corporate personhood ensure that even a rudimentary form of representative democracy is simply a joke, a mockery - the world's most expensive PR stunt.
What is necessary is massive civil disobedience and a massive overhaul of our legal framework and economic system. This is unlikely at the moment, however as conditions continue to worsen, this will become more likely as time goes by.
The Dems lose when they lose and surrender when they win and learn nothing in either case. An election day "thumping" is more or less what they expect now and I don't think they will change anything in response. They are the Colmes to the Republican's Hannity. They are the designated losers, like the DA who went up against Perry Mason. They have become completely comfortable with this. They are still able to perform their corporate shakedown from their "safe seats". They don't DO anything on those rare occasions when a desperate electorate votes them in.
"Cause we are sick and tired of hearing your song,'
tellin us how you're gonna change right from wrong,
Cause if you really want to hear our view,
you haven't done nothin..!
Du-du-wop!
F**k em and feed em fish heads!
Remember too that the moratorium is only on the 33 deep water wells. Deregulation has gone so far that now the safety of these wells is coming into question as it should. It's too bad that jobs will be suspended or lost, but that seems to be the battle cry against any action now a days. Not all jobs are sacred. Even killing overseas has been called a 'job.'
Jobs? Some jobs may be lost, as you say. But that does not mean we have to abandon the oil workers.
Where is the OCAW? They should be pushing to start manufacturing windmills and solar panels. Start expanding railroads and building the railroad and subway cars here, not only in Canada and France. Design and build energy efficient homes. And remodel old ones to save on heating and cooling. Plant trees and municipal gardens. Those are traditional production type jobs that still need to be done, and that are in harmony with caring for the environment. A blind adherence to jobs old style will accelerate our demise.
Close 800 bases, stop our pointless invasions and use the personnel and funds to fix our country in hundreds of ways. The military uses 1/3 of our oil, so we have to expand the military to get more oil and so on in a widening gyre. Between militarism and dirty energy, we are sucking the life out of ourselves and the earth.
Besides, on a more immediate level, the net loss of jobs from this one "accident" has not yet been told. The fishing, shrimping and tourism industries will be taking a big hit for a long time. That affects supermarkets and all kinds of retail stores. I'll bet homes will be abandoned and whole communities will be Detroitized. So much for jobs.
Joe
Conflict of interest, i can't believe they are saying it that way. That is a criminal act, a judge that has investments in these buisnesses, and he over turns a call from our government so he can keep making money, is not a judge at all. We are in a catastrophe, and this judge went against everything he is suppose to stand for. This is the problem with the world, too damn many people in power just looking out for them selves instead of doing what is right and just. This piece of shit should be thrown in jail for the rest of his natural life and every cent he has should be confiscated and thrown into the money's being used for help cleaning and solving the problem. I guarantee this joke of a judge will only get a slap on the wrist, there is truly no justice anymore, just greed and who has the bigger stick. This is utterly disgusting , there are no real words to discribe these deliberate acts that these men in power get away with. They all should be lynched, strung up for the world to see and hung like sadam husain! Tired of this trash that happen to get into power with help of there criminal buddies i'm sure.
Plain and simple: judges should never be allowed to rule on cases where they have a financial or any other type of interest.
When I was a kid, some seventy odd years ago, conflict of interest was the kiss of death for any office of public trust, and most private sector jobs.
Now, it seems to be a job requirement.
http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/
A Smart Pipe? Let's do it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzSPeuKw36w&feature=player_embedded
There's a precedent upon which the judge's decision could be set aside: Dimes v. Grand Junction Canal (1852). From the Wikipedia entry:
"...The case covers the point that "Judges must not appear to be biased or impartial". Lord Cottenham, the judge who sat over a previous case in which canal company that brought a case in equity against a landowner. Lord Cottenham was later discovered to have had shares in said company. The case was held stating that although there was no suggestion that the Lord Chancellor had in fact been influenced by his interest in the company, no case should be decided by a judge with a financial interest in the outcome. It was held that the Lord Chancellor was disqualified from sitting as a judge in the case because he had an interest in the action".
Even if this was an English case, there's surely persuasive precedent here?
This man should be disbarred (is he even a lawyer?) and put in jail. Maybe the $15,000 he made selling his stocks last week will pay part of his fines. Louisiana was apparently way slimy even before the oil eruption. How does it feel to be so corrupt?