Here's a question for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal: Why are government officials under his authority joining forces with BP to block media coverage of the oil spill?
Here's the background: Yesterday, CNN’s Jim Acosta reported that he and his camera operator were denied access to a facility treating oil-soaked wildlife despite authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Acosta said he was blocked by a BP contractor calling itself the Louisiana State Animal Response Team as well as an official from the Louisiana Fish and Wildlife Service Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and a member of the Louisiana National Guard, both of which are under Gov. Jindal's control.
When the CNN crew attempted to videotape the facility, a guardsman told them to stop, saying "I’m going to have to ask you to stop taking pictures here." When CNN appealed, Chris Buco, an official from the BP contractor, also denied access, saying he had the "final" authority on who would get access to the facility. And an official from the Louisiana Fish and Wildlife Service Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (which operates under Jindal's command) defended the BP contractor's decision, saying "it’s more important for the animals to have a quiet, calm, controlled area at this point."
Watch the video (transcript here):
Bobby Jindal has been getting decent press coverage during this oil spill. His handwaving about how he's the only one really fighting this oil and how he's really the only one taking on BP has played well for the cameras. It's gone so well, that Republicans have gone so far as to claim political victory on the oil spill.
But now that it's clear that Bobby Jindal's own government is helping BP cover up the impacts of this oil spill, it's possible the media might start taking a more critical look at his role in this crisis. And if that happens, the GOP's victory dance might end up looking a bit premature.