Shakedown

Rep. Barton (R. Texas) retracts his statement but really, isn't it a shakedown?  I would feel better if BP decided who to compensate themselves and any disagreement handled by the courts.  Instead we are going to have an "independent" panel make the decisions.

What Mr. Barton retracted:

I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, in this case, a $20 billion shakedown, with the attorney general of the United States, who is legitimately conducting a criminal investigation and has every right to do so to protect the interests of the American people, participating in what amounts to a $20 billion slush fund that's unprecedented in our nation's history, that's got no legal standing, and which sets, I think, a terrible precedent for the future.
...
So I'm only speaking for myself. I'm not speaking for anybody else. But I apologize.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06/17/2272820/transcript-of-joe-bartons-remarks.html

I agree.  It is a "terrible precedent"."