IG investigator says White House hindered probe of oil spill report
Politico44 ^ | 5/8/12 | DONOVAN SLACK
An investigator for the Interior Department’s Inspector General claims the White House hindered an investigation into a report on the BP oil spill by blocking access to a key official and email records, the New Orleans Times-Picayune is reporting.
The investigator was trying to determine whether the White House intentionally edited the report to create the false impression that outside experts supported the administration's call for a moratorium on offshore drilling. The White House had said the editing was a mistake, and the Inspector General’s final report concluded it was.
But the investigator, in a series of emails obtained by the newspaper, disagreed.
"I truly believe the editing 'WAS' intentional -- by an overzealous staffer at the White House. And, if asked, I, as the case agent, would be happy to state that opinion to anyone interested," Richard Larrabee, senior special agent assigned to investigate the matter for the Department of Interior's inspector general, wrote, according to the Times-Picayune.
Larrabee, in emails to his supervisors, said he was disappointed that the final IG report "makes no mention" of the White House's refusal to allow investigators to interview Joe Aldy, a White House official involved in the editing of the spill report, the Times-Picayune reported.
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