“I Cannot Recall”

Photo by Kate Sheppard.

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Joe Barton (R-Tex.) clearly stole the show at today’s House hearing by apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward. But Hayward made a stunning appearance himself. And by stunning, I mean he was unable or unwilling to answer basically every question House members posed to him. Some favorite responses:

“I don’t know.”

“I cannot recall.”

“I am not prepared to draw conclusions about this accident.”

When Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) asked Hayward why he couldn’t weigh in on the questions Waxman and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) sent the CEO earlier this week about evidence that BP’s corner-cutting may have caused the disaster, Hayward finally admitted that they had raised “legitimate areas of concern.” But he would not respond to the questions. “I am not prepared to draw conclusions about this accident until such time that the investigation is concluded,” said Hayward.

He did state, however, that he believes the company’s attention to safety is improving under his watch. “We have focused like a laser on safety,” he said.

The grilling is on hold for now while House members vote, but look forward to more non-responses when the grilling continues this afternoon.

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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