“Independent claims czar” on BP payroll

“Independent claims czar” on BP payroll: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Gulf disaster “independent claims czar” Kenneth Feinberg is on the payroll of BP, he has admitted. The administrator of the escrow account set up by the Obama administration to compensate victims of the BP blowout has so far refused to reveal how much the oil giant pays him.

Nothing could more clearly expose Feinberg’s pretensions of neutrality and objectivity in the distribution of funds from the $20 billion Independent Claims Facility (ICF) established by the Obama administration on June 16. Feinberg is in fact an attorney in the employ of BP. He cannot, by definition, be a neutral arbiter.

In a July 19 web chat, Feinberg said he would not say how much BP pays him, declaring “that’s between me and BP.” Last week he backtracked somewhat, saying he would reveal his pay package within “weeks.” “I don’t want to just announce what my estimated salary is for the next few months, I want to give a budget that will include that salary,” he said in explaining the delay.