"Gulf Oil Spill: Key BP Official Refuses To Testify"

"Another BP employee is refusing to testify in the investigation into the cause of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not produce testimony that could incriminate him.

BP’s two top officials on the rig also have refused to testify, one also taking the Fifth and the other repeatedly invoking a medical excuse.

The latest refusal to testify came from Brian Morel, a BP drilling engineer. If he had testified, Morel probably would have been asked to explain an e-mail message he wrote in which he rejected a suggestion that experts believe would have resulted in a safer and more costly well design."

Rong-Gong Lin II reports for the Los Angeles Times August 24, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"Gulf Oil Spill: Halliburton Employee Cautioned Bp About Well Design Choices" (Los Angeles Times)