Press Release from the Steve Simpson Campaign…
Attorney General Jim Hood waited until just before his re-election bid to file a lawsuit against BP Claims Administrator Kenneth Feinberg, costing Mississippi victims millions in compensation.
“Jim Hood is a political opportunist who saw the economic damage caused by BP as an opportunity to bankroll his re-election campaign,” Simpson said. “Jim Hood used Mississippi’s misfortune for his own political gain, attempting to get some positive headlines before Election Day and fill his bank account with more than $125,000 in donations from lawyers looking to benefit from BP-related lawsuits.”
Jim Hood waited almost one year after Louisiana and Alabama took the fight against BP to court before bringing any legal action on behalf of Mississippi Gulf Coast victims. In the meantime, he accepted more than $125,000 from attorneys and law-firms with a significant financial stake in the outcome of BP-litigation.
“Jim Hood should be representing only one client in court – the hard working Mississippians whose experienced financial hardship due to the spill,” Simpson said.
Seven days after the spill began, Jim Hood accepted his first tainted-donations, $20,000 in checks from New York City law-firm Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger & Grossman, which has a financial securities lawsuit filed against BP. In the months following, Hood accepted a total of at least $129,650 from BP-related attorneys.
“Jim Hood needs to immediately return these tainted contributions and focus on protecting the Coastal victims of the oil spill,” says Simpson.
Magnolia Tribune
