Issa: Obama "pre-occupied" with BP politics

Cantor Rakes In Wall Street Donations After Questioning Obama's Commitment To Finance Industry
Back in February 2010, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) made a pitch to the titans of the Financial Services industry. "I sense a lot of dissatisfaction and a lot of buyer's remorse on Wall Street," the Virginia Republican said, referencing the industry's supposedly souring relationship with the Obama Administration. The remarks, delivered in the pages of the Wall Street Journal , were part of a broader effort to splinter the relationship between Wall Street Donors and the Democratic...

BP: Tax Write Off Nets Them $10 Billion Of The $20 Billion Compensation Fund
ArthurK, who does a bang up job in the headlines, has this in the sidebar but it's too fun to ignore. Seems the most competent Administration ever, let BP set up the compensation fund in a way that they can write about half of it off. But the issue may raise red flags among federal officials, particularly in light of recent efforts by various other entities that have settled with the U.S. One notable example is Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which agreed last month not to seek Deductions for $535...

White House scorns BP CEO's complaint
AFP The White House on Tuesday scorned complaints by outgoing BP CEO Tony Hayward that he was "demonised" over the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, saying almost no-one felt sorry for him. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also said that despite standing down, Hayward should make himself available to testify at congressional Probes into the massive Spill, which has sparked outrage towards BP. "What's not fair is what has happened on the Gulf, what is not fair is that the actions of some, have caused...

BP to cut U.S. tax bill by $10 billion because of losses in gulf spill
BP said Tuesday that it plans to cut its U.S. Tax bill by $9.9 Billion, or about half the amount pledged to aid Victims of the disaster, by deducting costs related to the Oil Spill. This Story View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story A portion of that could be refunded from taxes BP paid in earlier years. The company disclosed its intentions as part of its second-quarter earnings report , in which it said it would record a $32.2 Billion charge to reflect the costs of...

BP hopes to turn page with new CEO, leaner company
New Orleans — BP officials say they are beginning to reinvent a company that reported a record $17 Billion Quarterly loss and is navigating the politically fraught task of making the Gulf of Mexico New. The company named its first American CEO on Tuesday during its Quarterly Earnings call, while its outgoing chief, who has been repeatedly criticized for other verbal miscues, miffed the White House anew on his way out. Robert Dudley, who will replace Tony Hayward on Oct. 1, promised...

New BP CEO Robert Dudley takes on huge challenges
BP named a new CEO Tuesday and handed him the herculean task of rebuilding a battered company even while it faces cleanup from past misdeeds. Robert Dudley, the first American to run the British Energy giant and a man who grew up partly in Mississippi , will oversee a BP that needs to shrink to pay for its Oil Spill cleanup costs in the Gulf of Mexico and a BP that's angered everyone from out-of-work shrimpers to U.S. Regulators who hold the keys to the lucrative Gulf of Mexico Oil assets...

Obama Talks to BP Chairman About Hayward's Ouster
BP CEO Tony Hayward, right, followed by BP Managing Director Bob Dudley, leave the White House in Washington, Wednesday, June 16, 2010. Dudley will replace Hayward as CEO in October. (Credit: AP) President Obama spoke yesterday with the chairman of the board of BP about their change in leadership, but BP CEO Tony Hayward's departure is "immaterial" to the company's obligations to the Gulf Coast in the wake of the Oil Spill, a White House spokesperson said today. "The key is that BP can't leave...

Robert Gibbs, Along With Everyone Else, Is Not Feeling 'Overly Sorry' For BP CEO Tony Hayward
After news broke of BP CEO Tony Hayward ’s ignominious exile to Siberia , Hayward took the fall and acknowledged his role in the BP Oil Disaster. Kidding! He obviously blamed it on the American Lamestream Media

The Daily Snapshot
Posted by Katelyn Sabochik on July 27, 2010 at 02:18 PM EDT Want to get the inside scoop on what’s going on at the White House delivered to your inbox each morning?  The Daily Snapshot is a quick look at what’s happening each day at the White House. It includes the President and Vice President’s daily schedules, a look at what’s hot on the White House blog, the Photo of the Day and other important updates. Take a look at our first edition of the Daily Snapshot...

BP to claim $10 billion U.S. tax credit for Gulf oil spill costs
Los Angeles - Oil giant BP PLC will reduce its contribution to U.S. coffers by roughly $10 Billion due to a Tax Credit the company is claiming it incurred from the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. BP said Tuesday that it is incurring a charge of $32.2 Billion from the Gulf response, and as such, it is claiming a $9.9 Billion taxation Credit. Asked in a conference call Tuesday about whether the company has discussed the Tax Credit with President Barack Obama's Administration, outgoing BP Chief...

Environmentalists Want a $5 Billion 'Down Payment' From BP
On the 100th day since the BP Oil Spill Disaster started, a coalition of leading environmental groups is asking the giant Oil company to make a "down payment" of $5 Billion to help pay for environmental damages caused by the deadly April 20 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig. BP ( BP ), which yesterday reported a record loss and named American Robert Dudley as its new CEO, has already agreed to put $20 Billion into an independently managed Escrow account, but additional...

Sepp: Collateral Damage From the BP Spill
Over the past 18 months, the Health Care, Financial Services and other industries have been saddled with crippling regulations, increased government intervention and in some cases punitive taxation, thanks to the Obama Administration and lawmakers in both chambers of Congress. Now, in a calculated response to the BP Oil Spill disaster, the White House and its supporters have not only concocted a job-killing Moratorium on Offshore Drilling, they’re also crafting Energy Legislation that...

Beat Up on Tony Hayward Day
BP recently announced CEO Tony Hayward will be replaced but the White House doesn’t sound happy: “[White House Press Secretary Robert] Gibbs demanded that Tony Hayward "make himself available" if Congress holds an inquiry about the BP oil leak, despite the outgoing CEO's suggestion that he would be reluctant to do so. "I don't think that a lot of people in any country are feeling overly sorry for the former CEO of BP," Gibbs said.” Hayward isn’t happy ...

The Danger of the Wikileaksapos; Leak: You Might Stop Thinking Like an American
In a Press Conference on Monday, July 26 th , White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs showed their was a small evolution in the White House response to the leak. Similar to the official statement, he said the White House's reaction to this "breach of federal law" is that it has the "potential to be very harmful to those that are in our Military, those that are cooperating with our Military, and those that are working to keep us safe." Gibbs also said, "I don't think that what is being...

Dodd: No Recess Appointment For Warren, Who Still May Not Be Confirmable
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd cast more doubts this afternoon about whether Elizabeth Warren could garner enough votes to head the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one day after White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called her "very confirmable." "I don't know, that's the question, how does he know that?" Dodd said in response to a question from TPMDC on his way in to the Democrats' weekly policy lunch. "She's qualified, no question about that. The...

Elizabeth Warren: Nightmare on Wall Street
Paul Krugman says he doesn't understand why the Obama Administration is "waffling" on the nomination of Elizabeth Warren to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I wish he'd provided a link to said waffling, because I've personally been surprised by how strongly various representatives of the White House have been supporting her in recent days. On Monday, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed concerns that Warren might not be confirmable:

Kerry under pressure as leak energizes war critics
Washington — The leak of classified documents that suggest the American-backed Pakistani government has been secretly helping the Taliban has intensified scrutiny of the policy of Senate Foreign Relations chairman John Kerry, who has pushed for Billions of dollars in Aid to Pakistan as part of the Afghanistan war strategy. Kerry, who first rose to prominence as a Vietnam Veteran who protested that war, now finds himself increasingly under pressure from antiwar Protesters who say his...

Leaked documents show a testy US-Pakistan bond
Washington— The U.S. and Pakistani governments moved swiftly Monday to say that a trove of leaked U.S. Military documents paints a dated and incomplete portrait of Pakistan as an untrustworthy partner against Militants who use the country as a safe zone. Both countries said the secret documents don't reflect Pakistan's recent cooperation against Militant networks on its side of the border with Afghanistan. The Obama Administration also acknowledged that despite a $7.5 Billion Aid Package,...

The Nuclear Option
E&E Daily Reports that the White House has floated the idea of adding cap & trade provisions to Energy Legislation in conference. Cap-and-trade provisions that likely cannot pass the Senate directly this year could be added to a narrower Energy package during a House and Senate conference, a White House spokesman suggested yesterday. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters he "certainly wouldn't rule it out" that a House-Senate conference committee would reconcile...

Oil causes 2,200 Gulf beach closings, warnings
Gulf beaches from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle have been closed or slapped with health warnings nearly 10 times more often this summer than last because of Oil from BP's massive deepwater leak, according to a report Wednesday by a national environmental group. While many beaches were spared, more than 2,200 closings, health advisories or notices were issued by state or local authorities through Tuesday because of Oil from the nearly three-month-long Spill. That compared with 237 closings...

Democratic National Committee transfers $2.5 million to party committees
The Democratic National Committee transferred $2.5 million to its House and Senate campaign arms as well as a trio of contested Governors races today, its latest financial investment in the party heading into the 2010 Midterm Elections. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee each received $833,000 while another $833,000 was doled out to gubernatorial contests in Florida ($400,000), Pennsylvania ($333,000) and Maryland ($100,000),...

DNC doles out $2.5 million to boost campaign committees
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) transfered $2.5 million to state and national party Committees, the latest installment in its $50 million election year effort. The DNC sent $833,333 each to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the party's Senate and House campaign Committees, respectively. The DNC also gave $100,000 to the Maryland state party, $400,000 to the Florida Democratic Party, and $333,333 to the...