By David Ingram
WASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - BP executives wanted to
concentrate blame for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster
on "blue collar rig workers" in order to save themselves, U.S.
government lawyers wrote in a court document that until Thursday
was partially redacted.
According to the newly public and complete version of the
court document, Justice Department lawyers are taking an even
harsher tone against BP Plc for the 2010 oil spill than
previously thought, invoking the language of class conflict.
The Aug. 31 document from the Justice Department was already
notable for its strong wording about what the government
considers gross negligence on the part of the London-based oil
giant and its management.
BP denies it was grossly negligent in the Gulf of Mexico oil
spill, which was the largest in U.S. history, and the resolution
of that point will help determine how much the company will owe
the government in pollution damages.
In a statement on Thursday, BP disputed the latest criticism
of its executives. "BP believes it was not grossly negligent and
looks forward to presenting evidence on this issue at trial in
January," the company said.
The document shows the Justice Department is preparing for a
bruising court fight that is headed for trial in January 2013,
unless the sides reach an agreement before then. They have not
commented on settlement talks.
Justice Department lawyers blacked out two sentences before
they filed the document in federal court in New Orleans. They
cited a confidentiality claim by BP.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier on Thursday ordered the
full document released, saying BP had withdrawn its
confidentiality claim.
'LIMITED' INVESTIGATION
The sentences appear in a section of the 39-page brief in
which Justice Department lawyers attack BP's internal
investigation of the oil spill.
Government lawyers charge that the internal inquiry, run by
BP executive Mark Bly, ignored embarrassing emails from drilling
supervisors that preceded the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon
oil rig that killed 11 people.
"Bly and BP's management in London purposefully limited the
investigation by excluding any of the systemic management
failures that led to the disaster," the lawyers wrote.
They continued: "This was a decision designed to ensure that
the public and legal lines of accountability would be focused
exclusively on blue collar rig workers and other
contractor/defendants - but at all cost, not upon BP management
and the inexplicable behaviors that coursed through the pages"
of the internal BP emails.
BP's statement on Thursday stood by its own inquiry.
"All official investigation reports have been consistent
with the core conclusion of the Bly report: that the accident
was the result of multiple causes involving multiple parties,"
the company said.
One individual, former BP engineer Kurt Mix, has been
criminally charged in connection with the oil spill. Mix has
pleaded not guilty to charges of destroying evidence about the
amount of oil released from BP's Macondo well. A trial is set
for February 2013.
A U.S. Justice Department spokesman had no comment.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel)
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