BP (NYSE:BP): Salazar's Lawyers Want Moratorium Lawsuit Thrown Out

After the devastating damage caused by the imposition of the oil drilling moratorium in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico after the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar has asked via his lawyers that U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman throw out the suit because it's irrelevant now that the Obama administration has lifted it.

In a court filing, Ignacia Moreno, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s environmental division, said this: "The secretary’s termination of the suspensions under the July directive has eradicated the effects of the alleged violations by providing plaintiff with the relief it was seeking. The termination directive has mooted plaintiff’s claims."

I wonder how it has eradicated the effects of the devastation while the moratorium was in effect? It's about as ignorant a statement I've ever heard from a lawyer in my life.

That's like saying I've torn up your property over the last three months, but since I'm no longer doing it, the lawsuit your filed against me should be thrown out because it is no longer doing you any harm. Guess what? The victim still has to pay to get the property restored, and that's why the lawsuit against the administration needs to be allowed to continue by the judge.

It's arguable as to whether or not the moratorium has been lifted besides in word, as new regulations basically keep it in place, and companies probably won't start drilling again for at least a month, and probably much longer.

That's why Salazar lifted the moratorium, in an attempt to secure a little political capital going into the election season, as it would have been able to be used by several people running for office in the Gulf states against their Democrat opponents; although I'm sure they'll bring it up anyway, although some Democrats from the Gulf states did oppose the oil moratorium as well.

So we have the moratorium lifted but no drilling allowed to be performed in the Gulf at this time. That means the moratorium never had any relevancy, and the arrogance of Salazar and the Obama administration in imposing the moratorium after it was rejected by the judge, shows the bizarre length they'll go to force their will on the American people.

Hopefully the judge will allow the lawsuit to go forward so we can be reminded of what the Obama administration did, and maybe end up having to pay for their deeds.