Most Republicans have been doing backflips to distance themselves from Joe Barton, who apologized to BP last week for the $20 billion escrow fund set up to make BP pay for Gulf Coast oil spill damages.
But Barton reportedly still has at least one friend left: Florida Republican Cliff Stearns is having a fundraiser next week, and according to the Miami Herald, Barton is his “special guest.”
The Herald reports that Barton (R-TX) will appear at a fundraiser next Wednesday for Stearns, who represents Florida’s 6th district.
Stearns himself has said that “BP acted recklessly and should be held fully accountable. Not just for the environmental damage, but there may be criminal action here as well.” He has also called for the chair of BP’s U.S. operations, Lamar McKay, to resign.
Barton has since taken back his apology to BP, but that didn’t stop Rep. Steve King (R-IA) from saying yesterday that Barton was “spot-on” when he called the escrow fund a “shake down.”
A spokesman in Stearns’ office said this morning that he was not aware of the event, and did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for confirmation.
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