June, 11 2010, 11:10am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Mike Senatore, Defenders, attorney, (202) 772-3221, msenatore@defenders.org
Caitlin Leutwiler, Defenders, communications, (202) 772-3226, cleutwiler@defenders.org
Derb Carter, SELC, senior attorney, (919) 967-1450
Catherine Wannamaker, SELC, senior attorney, (404) 521-9900, cwannamaker@selcga.org
Kathleen Sullivan, SELC, communications, (919) 945-7106, ksullivan@selcnc.org
MMS Deepwater Lease Sales to BP and Other Companies Continue Lax Oversight, say Groups
Leases financially obligate U.S. government, creating incentive to allow drilling
WASHINGTON
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) continues to approve new
leases after the Deepwater Horizon explosion that give British
Petroleum and other companies the right to drill even more deepwater
wells in the Gulf of Mexico under the same inadequate oversight that
led to the current oil spill, according to a new legal challenge filed
by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Defenders of Wildlife. The
groups say current policies create an incentive to allow drilling even
in the face of evident risks because once a lease is issued by MMS, the
U.S. government is obligated to pay the lessee either the fair market
value of the lease or the amount spent to obtain the bid plus costs and
interest if the government cancels the lease or refuses to allow
drilling. MMS approved new leases for deepwater tracts as recently as
June 10 under the same lax oversight complicit in the current Gulf
spill.
"MMS quietly granted oil companies the right to drill 198 more
deepwater wells as if the spill wasn't devastating the Gulf," said Derb
Carter, senior attorney and director, Carolinas Office, Southern
Environmental Law Center. "If it's too deep to stop a spill, it's too
deep to drill. BP is under criminal investigation for its explosion and
dumping millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf, yet MMS approved 13
new leases for BP to drill in deepwater without any better oversight."
The groups' lawsuit challenges MMS approval of leases, including 198
deepwater leases, in the Central Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater
Horizon explosion on April 20 and ongoing spill. In a legal claim added
on June 10 to an ongoing lawsuit in federal court, the groups allege
that MMS failed its legal responsibility after the explosion and spill
to reconsider its 2008 conclusions that the sale of the deepwater
leases and future oil drilling would have no potential significant
impact to the environment and no detailed environmental review was
required.
"Clueless and inept is really the only way to describe the ongoing
situation at MMS," said Mike Senatore, vice president for Conservation
Law at Defenders of Wildlife. "This agency is at the epicenter of the
worst environmental disaster in our nation's history and yet it's still
going about business as usual. How else do you explain MMS's approval
of the right to drill hundreds of new wells in the Gulf, including 13
for BP, based on the same fundamentally flawed and patently illegal
environmental documents used to green-light the Deepwater Horizon
operation?"
Despite President Obama's moratorium on new deepwater wells, MMS
approved the leases as it did the Deepwater Horizon rig--under the same
inadequate environmental review, requiring no failsafe spill
preventions, and with insufficient spill response plans--all of which
led to the ongoing Gulf oil spill. Now news reports say the President
is considering cutting short his moratorium on new deepwater wells due
to increasing pressure from oil companies.
"The public needs to understand that we are subsidizing the oil
companies for risky deepwater drilling," added Catherine Wannamaker,
senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center. "It's the public
that pays the cost of lax oversight. It's clear BP was in over its head
drilling in deep waters and now the Gulf is mired in oil."
Although oil companies must obtain approved exploration plans and a
permit before drilling a well, MMS routinely grants these
authorizations through a "categorical exclusion" or waiver of
additional environmental review. Thirteen new leases for BP--including
four leases in the Mississippi Canyon near the site of the uncontrolled
well--are among 198 new deepwater (over 200 meters or about 656 feet
deep) oil drilling leases approved by MMS as past of Lease Sale Number
213 in the Central Gulf of Mexico. At least 92 lease tracts are at
deeper depths than the Deepwater Horizon well, with the deepest ones
nearly two miles deep or almost twice the depth of the Deepwater
Horizon well.
One hundred forty-nine leases in Lease Sale Number 213 are over 400
meters deep. If wells over 400 meters (about a quarter mile) deep from
this sale produce oil, the federal government will also subsidize those
wells through the "royalty relief" program under which oil companies
are relieved from paying the normal 18.5 percent royalty on the volume
of the oil produced from risky deep water wells. The deeper the
drilling, the more oil the company can recover royalty free.
Four of the tracts MMS approved for BP to lease are over a mile deep
(between 1600 and 2000 meters) and will receive a royalty suspension of
12 million barrels of oil; six tracts MMS approved for BP are over a
mile and a quarter (2000 meters) deep and will receive a royalty
suspension for 16 million barrels. At $71 a barrel of oil, the royalty
relief program would provide what amounts to a public subsidy up to
$210 million for deepwater leases at that depth (2000 meters).
The Southern Environmental Law Center and Defenders of Wildlife
filed suit in federal court in Alabama on May 17 challenging MMS's
approval of oil drilling exploration plans, including BP's Deepwater
Horizon, with categorical exclusions or waivers of environmental review.
Defenders of Wildlife is the premier U.S.-based national conservation organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of imperiled species and their habitats in North America.
(202) 682-9400LATEST NEWS
Grand Jury Indicts Top Trump Aides, 11 Arizona Republicans Over 'Fake Electors' Scheme
Had it succeeded, said the state's attorney general, the scheme would have "deprived Arizona's voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president."
Apr 25, 2024
A grand jury in Arizona on Wednesday charged seven aides to Donald Trump and nearly a dozen Republican officials over a "fake electors" scheme in the state that aimed to keep the former president in power after his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump, who is currently facing nearly 90 charges across four criminal cases as he runs for another White House term, was described as "unindicted co-conspirator 1" in the 58-page indictment, which was announced by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
"The people of Arizona elected President Biden," Mayes, a Democrat, said Wednesday. "Unwilling to accept this fact, the defendants charged by the state grand jury allegedly schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency. Whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for."
The indictment names former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, sitting state Republican Sens. Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern, former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Lamon, and seven others as the "fake electors" who sought to declare Trump the rightful winner of the state's presidential contest.
The names of other individuals indicted by the state grand jury are redacted, but the document's descriptions make clear that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and top Trump legal strategist Boris Epshteyn are among those facing felony charges—including fraud, forgery, and conspiracy.
"In Arizona, defendants, unindicted coconspirators, and others pressured the three groups of election officials responsible for certifying election results to encourage them to change the election results," the document reads. "Discussions about using the Republican electors to change the outcome of the election began as early as November 4, 2020. Those plans evolved during
November based on memos drafted by [an attorney for the Trump campaign, Kenneth Chesebro]."
Mayes said Wednesday that had the fake elector scheme succeeded, it would have "deprived Arizona's voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president."
"It effectively would have made their right to vote meaningless," said Mayes.
A state grand jury, made up of everyday, regular Arizonans, has handed down felony indictments in the ongoing investigation into the fake elector scheme in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/Nu8GcD4ZqJ
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) April 24, 2024
Alex Gulotta, state director of All Voting Is Local Action Arizona, said Wednesday that "the indictment of the eleven fake electors is one of the first steps required in holding these election deniers accountable for their alleged attempts to take power away from voters by disrupting our free and fair elections."
"Arizonans deserve to trust the election officials responsible for administering our elections and preserving our democracy," said Gulotta, "and this is a positive step forward as we continue to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and restore faith in our elections."
The Arizona Republicreported Wednesday that "several of the Arizona electors have previously claimed they were merely offering Congress a backup plan, though nothing in the documents they sent to Congress and the National Archives backs up that assertion."
"The indictment includes several statements the false electors made on social media that contradict those claims," the newspaper observed.
Jenny Guzman, director of Common Cause's Arizona program, said the indictment "marks the start of a new chapter for the fake elector scheme that has plagued Arizona."
"Arizonans are still dealing with the fallout from the false electors and the Big Lie about the 2020 elections," said Guzman. "We are relieved that the investigation by Attorney General Mayes has concluded and Arizonans can now know that what comes next is accountability. These efforts by these fake electors to undermine the will of Arizona’s voters have had implications far beyond their failed attempt to overthrow the 2020 election."
"This indictment can reassure all Arizonans that if anyone, regardless of their political affiliation, attempts to undermine their vote, consequences will follow," Guzman added.
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Watchdog Urges FEC to Investigate Trump Campaign Over Scheme for Legal Fees
"By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much."
Apr 24, 2024
A campaign finance watchdog on Wednesday filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, affiliated political groups, and an accounting firm of violating U.S. law in a scheme "seemingly designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump's legal bills."
The Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said that "evidence appears to show an illegal arrangement between several Trump-affiliated committees and a compliance firm named Red Curve Solutions that is designed to obscure the identities of those providing legal services and how much they are being paid."
"Voters have a right to know how the presidential campaigns and other committees supporting presidential candidates spend their money."
CLC alleges that the Trump campaign, Trump's political action committee (PAC) Save America, and three affiliated organizations "violated federal reporting requirements based on a scheme in which the committees reportedly paid over $7.2 million—described as 'reimbursement for legal' costs or expenses"—to Red Curve.
The watchdog also said that Red Curve appears to be "making or facilitating illegal contributions that violate either federal contribution limits or the prohibition on corporate contributions."
According to CLC:
Red Curve is a domestic limited liability company that offers compliance and FEC reporting services but does not appear to offer any legal services. It is managed by Bradley Crate, who also serves as the treasurer for each of the five Trump-affiliated committees concerned in this complaint, as well as over 200 other federal committees.
According to filings with the FEC, Red Curve appears to have been fronting legal costs for Trump since at least December 2022, with Trump-affiliated committees repaying the company later. This arrangement appears to violate FEC rules that require campaigns to disclose not only the entity being reimbursed (here, Red Curve) but also the underlying vendor. By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much they are being paid—through this arrangement.
"Voters have a right to know how the presidential campaigns and other committees supporting presidential candidates spend their money," CLC senior director of campaign finance Erin Chlopak said in a statement. "When campaigns and committees obscure that information from the public, not only do they make it difficult to determine if the law has been violated, but they deny voters the ability to make an informed choice when casting a ballot."
"The steps taken by the Trump campaign, its affiliated committees, and Red Curve Solutions concealed information about how campaign funds were used to pay former President Trump's legal expenditures, including the amounts and ultimate recipients of these expenditures—and the FEC must investigate immediately," Chlopak added.
Trump—who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee—faces 91 federal and state felony charges related to his role in the January 6 insurrection and his organization's business practices. He is currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. The twice-impeached former president has been open about his use of campaign donations to pay his legal costs.
The new CLC filing comes a day after the watchdog filed separate FEC complaints urging investigations into a pair of Trump-affiliated "scam PACs," which "pretend to fundraise for major candidates or issues while secretly diverting almost all of their donors' money back into fundraising or the fraudsters' own pockets."
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'One Step Closer': Arizona House Votes to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban
"With a total ban still set to take effect June 8, the Arizona Abortion Access Act is needed now more than ever," one state campaigner said of a November ballot measure.
Apr 24, 2024
Three Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday joined with Democrats to advance legislation that would repeal an 1864 ban on abortion—a development rights advocates welcomed while stressing that the fight is far from over.
The 32-28 vote on House Bill 2677—with GOP Reps. Tim Dunn (25), Matt Gress (4), and Justin Wilmeth (2) voting in favor—was the third attempt in as many weeks to pass repeal legislation since the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the ban.
"The state Senate could vote on the repeal as early as next Wednesday, after the bill comes on the floor for a 'third reading,' as is required under chamber rules," according toNBC News. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs on Wednesday toldThe Washington Post that "I am hopeful the Senate does the right thing and sends it to my desk so I can sign it."
Applauding the House passage of H.B. 2677, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona president and CEO Angela Florez said that "today, Arizona is one step closer to repealing the state's Civil War-era total abortion ban. While the repeal still must pass the Senate, this is a major win for reproductive freedom."
"We must celebrate today's vote in support of abortion rights and harness our enthusiasm to spread the word and urge lawmakers in the Senate to support this necessary repeal bill," she continued. "Despite this step forward, Arizonans cannot stop fighting."
Florez noted that "even with the repeal of the Civil War-era ban, the state will still have a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that denies people access to critical care. And lawmakers continue to attack Arizonans' ability to access reproductive healthcare. Our right to control our bodies and lives is hanging on by a thread."
"Thankfully, voters will have the opportunity to take back control if the Arizona Abortion Access Act is on the ballot this November," she added. "Abortion bans are out-of-step with the will of Arizonans and will force pregnant people to leave their communities for essential healthcare. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona will continue fighting to ensure everyone has the right to make decisions about their health and futures."
The Arizona Abortion Access Act is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would prevent many limits on abortions before fetal viability and safeguard access to care after viability to protect the life or physical or mental health of the patient.
The coalition supporting the amendment, Arizona for Abortion Access, highlighted on social media that the House-approved bill "did not include the emergency clause required to stop the 1864 ban from taking effect on June 8," meaning H.B. 2677 wouldn't apply until 90 days after the end of the legislative session.
Coalition campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said that "with a total ban still set to take effect June 8, the Arizona Abortion Access Act is needed now more than ever. We remain committed to taking these decisions out of the hands of extremist politicians."
Arizona is one of multiple states where rights advocates are promoting abortion rights ballot measures this cycle. Reproductive freedom is also dominating political races at all levels, including the presidential contest. Democratic President Joe Biden is set to face former Republican President Donald Trump in November.
"Donald Trump is responsible for Arizona's abortion ban. Women in the state are still living under a ban with no exceptions for rape or incest and have been stripped of the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions," said Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' reelection campaign manager.
While the presumptive GOP nominee has tried to distance himself from the Arizona Supreme Court's reinstatement of a 160-year-old abortion ban, he has also campaigned on his three appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped reverse Roe v. Wade.
"Trump brags that he is 'proudly' the person responsible for these bans and if he retakes power, the chaos and cruelty he has created will only get worse in all 50 states," Chávez Rodriguez said. "President Biden and Vice President Harris are the only candidates who will stop him."
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