Flashback: In 2000, Vitter proposed legislation to reduce criminal liability of oil companies for spills

This week, Attorney General Holder announced the Obama administration had opened criminal and civil investigations into the companies involved in the Gulf oil disaster.  Officials said they were looking into potential violations of the Oil Pollution Act [OPA:] of 1990, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

But if Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) had his way, BP and its partners would have been off the hook for violations of all but the weakest of U.S. laws.  TP has the story in...