Commission Finds No Evidence Of BP Putting Profit Over Safety

By Samira Sadeque

Fred Bartlit, General Counsel to the White House appointed Gulf Oil Spill Commission, announced Monday that their investigation of the BP oil spill turned up no indication that money had been prioritized over safety in the construction or maintenance of the Macondo well.

“To date we have not a single instance where a human being made a conscience decision to favor dollars over safety,” he told a roomful of reporters and audience during the first leg of the hearing on the findings regarding the blowout.

Bartlit added that the lawyers and advocates present at the hearing should honor the dead by “get[ting] to the root cause without a lot of bickering and self-serving statements.”

Former Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) said during the introduction of the hearing that the next two days will reveal the different ways in which “this complex system failed”.

“We’re not looking for scapegoats, but we do believe we have an obligation to uncover all relevant facts,” Graham said.