July, 26 2010, 02:20pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lindsey M. Williams (202) 342-1903
Richard R. Renner (202) 342-6980
lmw@whistleblowers.org
Justice Department Considering Using False Claims Act to Recover Losses in Deepwater Horizon Disaster
FCA Legal Actions Could Result in BP Paying Treble Damages to United States Taxpayers
WASHINGTON
Assistant Attorney General
Tony West confirmed that the U.S. Department of Justice was "considering
all avenues of redress against the potentially responsible parties,"
according to a letter released today
by the National Whistleblower Center. The letter specifically mentions
the False Claims Act ("FCA"). The letter is in response to a letter from NWC urging
the government to use the FCA to hold responsible parties accountable
for losses suffered by the taxpayers as a result of the Deepwater
Horizon disaster.
In a letter to the Executive Director of the National Whistleblower
Center, Assistant Attorney General West praised the "important
contributions" of whistleblowers (referred to as "relators under the
FCA) "in assisting the United States" in recovering "taxpayer funds."
West stated:
This public-private partnership has
proved a successful tool for the recovery of public funds and for
rewarding relators who bring allegations of fraud to the government.
Indeed, since January 2009 more then $3.6 billion was obtained under the
Act's qui tam provisions, and relators were awarded more than $497 million for their efforts in helping government pursue these recoveries.
The FCA was originally signed into law by President Abraham
Lincoln, and was recently strengthened by Congress in 2009 and 2010.
The law covers corporations that obtain oil and gas leases from the
United States, and provides for the payment of treble damages if a
company violates the FCA. Qualified whistleblowers that provide
original information concerning such violations are entitled to
mandatory monetary rewards between 15% and 30% of any monies recovered
by the United States pursuant to an FCA case.
Stephen M. Kohn, the Executive Director of the National
Whistleblower Center praised Assistant Attorney General West's
response:
It is not enough to simply slap BP on
the wrist by making them pay fine and clean up costs. BP owes U.S.
taxpayers treble damages, and they must be made to pay up.The FCA is powerful tool, protecting
and rewarding employees who expose violations of environmental law and
government lease agreements. Under the FCA, every corporation involved
in drilling under a federal government lease can be held accountable to
the taxpayers for treble damages if they violate the terms of those
leases or if they made false statements to obtain a lease. This
liability stretches beyond the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Workers, who
risk their jobs and careers to expose violations of leasing obligations,
including violations of safety and environmental standards, are
entitled to significant monetary rewards if their claims are covered
under the FCA. We are encouraged that the Justice Department is
considering using the FCA as
one of its legal tools for protecting Americans from economic and
environmental disaster in the Gulf Coast.
Attachments:
Letter from Assistant Attorney General West to NWC (July 20, 2010)
Letter from NWC to Attorney General
Since 1988, the NWC and attorneys associated with it have supported whistleblowers in the courts and before Congress and achieved victories for environmental protection, government contract fraud, nuclear safety and government and corporate accountability.
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Amnesty Urges War Crimes Probe of 'Indiscriminate' Israeli Attacks on Lebanon
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Amnesty International on Thursday called for a war crimes investigation into recent Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon that killed dozens of civilians, as well as a suspension of arms transfers to Israel as it attacks Gaza, the West Bank, and Syria.
In a briefing paper titled The Sky Rained Missiles, Amnesty "documented four illustrative cases in which unlawful Israeli strikes killed at least 49 civilians" in Lebanon in September and October amid an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) campaign of invasion and bombardment that Lebanese officials say has killed or wounded more than 20,000 people.
"Amnesty International found that Israeli forces unlawfully struck residential buildings in the village of al-Ain in northern Bekaa on September 29, the village of Aitou in northern Lebanon on October 14, and in Baalbeck city on October 21," the rights group said. "Israeli forces also unlawfully attacked the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on October 16."
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty's senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns, said in a statement that "these four attacks are emblematic of Israel's shocking disregard for civilian lives in Lebanon and their willingness to flout international law."
The September 29 attack "destroyed the house of the Syrian al-Shaar family, killing all nine members of the family who were sleeping inside," the report states.
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On October 16, Israel bombed the Nabatieh municipal complex, killing Mayor Ahmad Khalil and 10 other people.
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In the deadliest single strike detailed in the Amnesty report, IDF bombardment believed to be targeting a suspected Hezbollah member killed 23 civilians forcibly displaced from southern Lebanon in Aitou on October 14.
"The youngest casualty was Aline, a 5-month-old baby who was flung from the house into a pickup truck nearby and was found by rescue workers the day after the strike," Amnesty said.
Survivor Jinane Hijazi told Amnesty: "I've lost everything; my entire family, my parents, my siblings, my daughter. I wish I had died that day too."
As the report notes:
A fragment of the munition found at the site of the attack was analyzed by an Amnesty International weapons expert and based upon its size, shape, and the scalloped edges of the heavy metal casing, identified as most likely a MK-80 series aerial bomb, which would mean it was at least a 500-pound bomb. The United States is the primary supplier of these types of munitions to Israel.
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The October 21 strike destroyed a building housing 13 members of the Othman family, killing two women and four children and wounding seven others.
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Guevara Rosas said: "These attacks must be investigated as war crimes. The Lebanese government must urgently call for a special session at the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism into the alleged violations and crimes committed by all parties in this conflict. It must also grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over Rome Statute crimes committed on Lebanese territory."
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Last month, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel's 433-day Gaza onslaught, which has left more than 162,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing in the embattled enclave.
The tribunal also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes committed during and after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which more than 1,100 people were killed and over 240 others were kidnapped.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice is weighing a genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel. Last week, Amnesty published a report accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
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Citing recent research by the American Immigration Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the JEC report warns that depending on how many immigrants are forced out of the country, Trump's deportations could:
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