Spill Commission: Obama Admin Blocked Release of Oil Flow Data

"The White House blocked efforts by federal scientists to tell the public just how bad the Gulf oil spill could have been, according to a panel appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history."

That's the lead of an Oct. 6 story by AP reporter Dina Cappiello.

The White House denies it. Commission Co-chair William Reilly says the panel stands by its reports.

• "Panel: Government Blocked Worst-Case Oil Spill Figures," Associated Press, October 6, 2010.
• "White House Denies Blocking Gulf Spill Info," Voice of America (with wires), October 7, 2010.
• "Oil Spill Commission Co-Chair Defends Panel's Reports," Washington Independent, October 13, 2010, by Andrew Restuccia.
• "The Amount and Fate of the Oil," Draft Staff Working Paper No. 3, National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Oil Drilling.
• Previous Stories: WatchDogs of October 6, 2010 and August 25, 2010.