June 22: Why Was Judge Feldman Ruling On Oil Case?

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Forget for a moment that U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman made a lousy ruling this morning in overturning the Obama Administration's six-month moratorium on offshore oil drilling - a ruling the administration will appeal.

He may have bigger problems. The Associated Press reports that in 2008, Feldman's financial disclosure report showed investments in eight companies that either produce or are in some way connected to oil. One of them was Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

If that's the case, why was he allowed to rule on this case? And why didn't the Obama Administration balk at the judicial selection before?

They're certainly balking now, and Feldman should have recused himself from the beginning. His ruling should be overturned on several grounds - including possible conflict of interest.