Interior drilling chief to meet with Rep. Landry after ‘Gestapo’ remark

{mosads}Bromwich informed Landry in a letter last week that staff at BOEMRE’s Gulf of Mexico office would not be able to meet with the lawmaker on Sept. 30 as scheduled “in light of [Landry’s] defamatory remarks.”

Landry made an unannounced visit Sept. 2 to a regional BOEMRE office in New Orleans, to discuss his concerns about permitting for offshore drilling projects. Staff declined to meet with Landry.

Landry later told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans that BOEMRE personnel acted “like the CIA and Gestapo.”

In his letter to Landry, Bromwich said the comments “deeply offended” BOEMRE staff.

“Your comparison of the minor inconvenience you experienced to the tactics and methods of the Nazi secret police is simply unacceptable from anyone, but especially from a public official,” Bromwich said in the letter, calling on Landry to apologize for his remarks.

Mule said Thursday that Landry has no intention of apologizing for his remarks.

“I can tell you that Congressman Landry will not apologize for fighting for the hardworking people of Louisiana,” Mule said.

Landry is an outspoken critic of the Obama administration’s offshore drilling policies, and he has often alleged that BOEMRE is taking too long to approve offshore drilling permits.

This story was updated at 3:22 p.m.