Links
Judge who threw out drilling moratorium had oil stock
The federal judge who presided over a challenge to the Obama administration's six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling simultaneously owned stock in an oil company affected by the ban, according to a financial disclosure statement released Friday.
U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman sold the stock in Exxon Mobil 14 days after the case was filed in New Orleans by a group of oil service firms -- and less than five hours before he struck down the moratorium.
Feldman said in a statement elaborating on the disclosure that he was unaware of his holdings in Exxon Mobil and a smaller oil company until 9:45 p.m. Monday, the day before he issued his ruling.
Even before this latest disclosure, Feldman was criticized by environmental groups and others for not recusing himself from the case. The groups pointed to his 2008 disclosure form, which showed that he had invested in companies involved in offshore oil and gas exploration.
Feldman's 2009 form, released Friday, shows that he had sold his holdings in offshore drilling service firms but continued to buy and sell energy stocks. They were among the judge's more than 100 investments, most listed in the category of holdings worth $15,000 or less.
One of those stocks was Exxon Mobil, which like other major oil companies has interests in offshore exploration and production projects in the Gulf of Mexico's deepwater areas.