Dick Cheney 'Needs To Testify' About BP Oil Spill, Says Chris Matthews (VIDEO)

Former Vice President and one-time Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney should be called to testify about the gulf oil spill, according to Chris Matthews.

Matthews argues that because Cheney held secret meetings with big oil to develop the Bush administration's energy policy, it's impossible to know who was responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Matthews elaborates:

You see, in the cozy world of oil and those charged by public oath with regulating it, these are leaks that can be prevented. Halliburton is now saying it`s not to blame for what happened in the Gulf of Mexico. How on Earth are we to know who was responsible for this in this incredibly incestuous little set up?

We have the vice president of our country, fresh from his job as CEO of the oil company, holding secret meetings with oil companies in the White House. From top to bottom, the government President Obama inherited was stocked with Halliburton people, supposedly looking at Halliburton, while the whole thing looks like they were looking out for Halliburton. Don`t you think?

Halliburton, Transocean, and BP are trying to blame one another for the spill. On Thursday, Transocean, the doomed rig's contractor, sought to cap its liability for the spill at $27 million. According to BP, its estimated cleanup costs are now $450 million.

WATCH: Matthews makes his case

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Comments

[David Kearns]

09:57 AM on 07/04/2010

Since Mathews blasted Sick Cheney on national television - and indeed since Olbermann, and Bobby Jr. have done the same - not one peep out of Cheney's camp on questions concerning his relationship with Big Oil while he was Veep. Nothing. All we've seen from Cheney since April 22, two days after the explosion, is strategic heart trouble. The media elites have also grown silent regarding this obvious connection between Cheney and fatal deregulation. Members of congress too have forgotten. Shhhhh, children mustn't disturb big daddy. He's not feeling well. Christ, what kind of country are we living in, anyway.

[cebudavid]

07:57 PM on 07/05/2010

David i agree well said! fanned and faved

[MartyinLA]

08:06 PM on 06/28/2010

Maybe Kenneth Starr could preside.

[chabuka]

12:25 PM on 06/26/2010

Cheney/Scalia also need to justify the secret "energy commissions" and the total destruction of water, air and land in the Westerb States..tell us Mr. Cheney how is it that, hydraulic fracturing is exempt from the clean air act, the clean water act, the endangered species act, the environmental protection regulations..? and tell us, you crooked old Supreme Court Judges..(Scalia (Scales) in particular)..why is it executive privilege to hide that information from public view....even while that destruction takes place on public and private lands....and tell us Mr. U.S. Attorney General how you and the current President can ignore the criminal enterprise's of greed and corruption that occurred in the Bush White House...what kind of pact did you make with those Devils....? But, don't pick on poor old Cheney, he is a undisclosed hospital somewhere having a "bad heart day"...and hiding out

[cebudavid]

08:07 PM on 07/05/2010

Chabuks really think about this but the major problems we are feeling today lead back to Dick Cheney when he was Vice President! War, Economy, Oil which are just a few not mentioning so many other problems.

[BambooHarvester]

11:09 PM on 06/25/2010

Tweety not the sharpest knife in the draw.

[retroaquarian]

02:30 PM on 05/24/2010

!. Dick Cheney does need to tesify about BP.

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/62899,business,dick-cheney-halliburton-implicated-in-bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill

2. Dick Cheney needs to testify about Haliburton.

http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/chronology.html

3. Dick Cheney needs to testify about torture.

4. Dick Cheney needs to testify about Valerie Plame.

5. Dick Cheney needs to testify about warantless eavesdropping.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/09/what-did-bush-tell-gonzales/7064/

http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0315nj1.htm

6. Dick Cheney needs to testify about WMD.

http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0330nj1.htm

[Crystalmoon47]

11:28 AM on 05/27/2010

Amen to all of that!

[Clarabell]

10:16 PM on 06/25/2010

You wouldn't get this "in" in his "sick" thread :-))

[meetingthepress]

10:10 PM on 05/22/2010

It would probably be good to first hear what he has to say about Haliburton, WMD, and Valerie Plame. Then they can get to the BP Oil Spill. Cheney would do a service to the nation by doing nothing other than testifying fulltime.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/politics/main575356.shtml

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2005/Cheneys_stock_options_rose_3281_last_1011.html

http://www.nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2006/0209nj1.htm

http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0315nj1.htm

[BOin08]

04:25 PM on 05/22/2010

The Cheney vampire still haunts his dreams...poor guy. Heart stake him, brother and move on.

[rougebaisers]

03:32 AM on 05/20/2010

I am not usually one to go here over CM, but I salute his rage and daily reaming of government up to and including Obama over this spill. By summers end, once the summer storms begin, this miserable scummy disaster will indeed be well on its way to Provincetown MA and beyond. It is coming home to the east coast elite, and perhaps not until then, will pressure never seen or imagined come to bear on this president and the rest of Washington to END THIS MADNESS. I hop CM's rage increases on this and does not stop until it is ended.

[ColosslFup]

07:08 PM on 05/18/2010

"When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around."

or

When your guy is making everyone realize Katrina was handled well compared how the current gang of clowns is doing, you do the only thing you know...blame Dick Cheney.

We've heard this story, it's now called, "The Admin that cried wolf."

[dragonlady620]

12:29 AM on 06/26/2010

There's a good reason to blame Cheney-he had EVERYTHING to do with it.
Your notion that Katrina was "handled well" is ridiculous. It wasn't, and I doubt if you speak for "everyone." There is no comparison to the present disaster because there is no known technolgy for dealing with it, and it has to be a logistics nightmare. The fact that Obama got BP to cough up a couple of billions dollars, with more to come, is pretty remarkable, considering that the cleanup of past oil spills have always ended up being billed to the taxpayers. It might interest you to know that Exxon has not paid out one dime on the Valdez spill, even though Bush/Cheney got the award substantially reduced in 2001, and managed to finagle a ruling that got them off the hook for any environmental damages. They are still stalling it in court, trying to get permanent caps set on any future liabilities.

[David Kearns]

10:39 AM on 05/17/2010

It is simply amazing: you can get 10,000 "conservatives" to March on Washington to allegedly save "the individual business owner" from "regulation. But ask them to look out for the interests of real business people all along the Gulf coast from the sins of BP big oil and the sins of Sick Cheney and his love spawn Halliburton, or otherwise even ask these to account for a meeting which took place, and same so called conservatives come out to defend Big Corp. Could it be we're getting a REAL look inside the Machine behind tea baggers, behind "conservatives?" All lies, all bought and paid for Big Corp, and misleading the ignorant hypocrites who follow.

[JLivermore]

02:50 PM on 05/16/2010

Where is our ex VP Dick Cheney? Here is an issue that is in his domain? He's been so public about the Obama administration - after being an invisible VP for 8 years, and how he is invisible about this huge issue we are facing?

Dick Cheney - is he the new Invisible Man?

[dragonlady620]

12:35 AM on 06/26/2010

You're not the first one to make the observation that Cheney after flapping his jaws with public criticism of Obama from Day 1, is suddenly silent.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

06:08 AM on 05/15/2010

If we Liberals give up on the dream to prosicute these,Butt holes, of the neo-con administration.And we Move On to Support Sen.Leahy's Push to astablish a truth and reconciliation commision,We eliminate the Republicans Right to say they were looking out for america's intrest,we remove the line W was elected in 2000 as president ,from every text book in america.We show the less than afluent in this nation, that neo-cons are all about grinding up their bones and flesh and making hamburger helper from the residuals! This is our last best chance....That and

[Jorge L Rolon]

10:23 PM on 05/14/2010

we need to start calling whats happening to our country like we see it trators treason against the american people

[icemdown]

03:05 PM on 05/14/2010

Matthews is an idiot. The "blame Bush & Cheney" argument is getting old. Start your investigation with Obama appointed morons who are still granting drilling permits:
"After the disaster, Mr. Salazar said he would delay granting any new oil drilling permits.
But the minerals agency has issued at least five final approval permits to new drilling projects in the gulf since last week, records show."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us/14agency.html
They were warned in May of 2009 of what could happen in the gulf.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/14agency/3_Ken-Abbott-BP-Atlantis-2009.pdf
Lets see if Matthews is as concerned about this as he is about Hallibuton. I doubt he or HP will even mention it. Kudos to the NY Times for printing the story.

[SAJP]

12:10 AM on 05/15/2010

Yeah -- you need to be iced down. Investigations of your heroes into their traitorous corruption may last decades, so you better get used to George The Boy King and dick Cheney taking blame they deserve for a long time to come.

Another thing genius -- those 'five final approval permits' you mention were in-process for over 2 years. Now maybe you should go to back to beddy-bye before mommy catches you on her computer, and dream of growing up with a brain.

[icemdown]

01:41 AM on 05/15/2010

Read the entire article as swipe if your able. People without ideas default to insults. If that's your mug, I've got kids your age.

[nwowl]

04:42 AM on 05/15/2010

Is there ever a point or issue that the current Pres. will be responsible for?? I just want to know when the "i inherited this" mantra moves over to his responsibility, and why the delay. Keep in mind the next President who will likely not be a Democrat will want to use that lame excuse that he/she has no responsibility for anything that happens on their watch.

Name ONE thing Pres. Obama is responsible for that he will hold out as his come November? By then he'll be distancing himself from health care, I don't see Gitmo closed within a year (we're at 16 months into his Presidency), unemployment is NOT where he said it would be (and don't blame Bush, Obama said below 10 and down to 9 by this time)

For some reason the old story of "The Emporer's New Clothes" keeps coming to mind with our new Pres.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

06:12 AM on 05/15/2010

Not old, the Bible is old....Do Old Make it less true....Maybe...Like the line I heard the other day! W. and shooter were elected in 2000 in a fair election. And the supream court is impartial. And questioning the president is Talimont to treason! (pre 9/11 Hannity ,You betcha!)

[JTHC75]

02:20 PM on 05/14/2010

You're kidding me, right? He's blaming this disaster on meetings that took place 9 years ago? What about the Minerals Management Service that granted the permits for BP to drill? Oh yeah, it's Obama's appointees who allowed it, but let's just ignore that and point fingers at Cheney.

[GiannaX]

02:50 PM on 05/14/2010

Yeah, let's blame former Vice President of corruption, Dick Cheney. His fingerprints are all over this disaster. This catastrophe was years in the making. The hits just keep on coming from the nightmare years of the Bush/Cheney reign of destruction of this country.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

07:10 AM on 05/15/2010

actully a left over from the neo-con freak show...Sorry!Jthc75