E2-Wire

Rand Paul stays mum on $20 billion BP escrow fund

by Ben Geman - 06/25/10 4:44 PM ET

Paul last month drew widespread attention when he said President Barack Obama’s criticism of BP “sounds really un-American.”

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) last week called the White House-driven creation of the $20 billion fund — which BP won’t manage — a “shakedown” and apologized to BP. Barton later retracted the comment and the apology under heavy pressure from GOP leaders.

But Democrats have pounced on Barton’s claim to allege Republicans are cozy with “big oil.” A recent Democratic National Committee ad on Barton’s apology also features Paul’s comments last month about BP.

Tags Barack Obama