Obama's Environmental Pick Is Tight With the Enemy

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 7, 2009 8:26 PM CDT

(Newser) – President Obama's pick to run the Justice Department's environmental unit has an impressive resume when it comes to lawsuits against giant polluters. Trouble is, say her critics, all that experience has come from working with the bad guys. Ignacia Moreno, currently an attorney for GE, has spent years defending the nation's biggest corporations in Superfund cases. Several EPA lawyers tell ProPublica that any attorney with her background has no business trying to reverse course and police polluters.

GE, for instance, has been linked to 116 Superfund sites, second most in the nation. Its attorneys are expert at playing the environmental legal system, which Moreno's supporters say would actually make her a stronger government enforcer. Moreno said in a Senate questionnaire that she would recuse herself from any GE case for two years. Her confirmation hearings begin in a few weeks.

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The GE logo. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

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She has been one of the big players in defending large corporations against Superfund lawsuits. She is going to have to change her focus 180 degrees, but there is no reason to believe she is not capable of doing that. - Brian Leinbach, who faced Moreno in court

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 6 comments

kokuaguy

Jul 9, 2009 1:30 AM CDT

I'll wait till after the 2010 elections to decide whether to support Obama for re-election. If I believed anyone in this community of keyboard Einsteins had shown her/himself to be qualified to condemn the POTUS at this point, I'd content myself with reading their posts and keep my opinions to myself.

brawne

Jul 8, 2009 5:18 AM CDT

Bombs--I voted for Obama knowing his connection to the Pritzkers who pretty much invented the off-shore tax dodge. If McCain had picked a better running mate or been ten years younger it could have been different.

brawne

Jul 8, 2009 5:06 AM CDT

Don't forget Donald Rumsfeld owns half the stock of the company that developed and holds the patent for Tamaflu--you know swine flu? And he owned it while at the Pentagon and would ethically leave the room when discussions of purchasing it for Avian Flu vaccines for the military were discussed. A bit too V for Vendetta for my tastes.

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Politics • Green

environment • Department of Justice • General Electric • nominee • EPA • President Obama • Ignacia Moreno • Superfund

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