Feds to pursue criminal and civil inquiries into oil spill

The World

BP’s legal woes are mounting as oil continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that federal authorities will open both civil and criminal inquiries into the Gulf Oil spill.

John Schwartz, national legal correspondent for our partner The New York Times, joins us to talk about the legal inquiries. And Stanley Alpert, an environmental attorney and former chief environmental prosecutor in New York, joins us to talk about what the intent to pursue both civil and criminal cases indicates about the spill. And he offers his insight on how you go about prosecuting a corporation like BP.

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