bp criminal

“We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, anyone who has violated the law,” Holder said. “This disaster is nothing less than a tragedy.”

Holder announced the investigation today at a news conference in New Orleans, the same day President Barack Obama called the spill “the greatest environmental disaster of its kind in our history.” The president said, “My solemn pledge is that we will bring those responsible to justice.”

The spill began after an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, which London-based BP leased from Switzerland-based Transocean Ltd. to drill its Macondo well in the Gulf. Houston-based Halliburton Co. provided oilfield services on the well.

Holder, who said the probe “began some weeks ago,” declined to specify which companies are under investigation. He said he surveyed a portion of the damage, was briefed by Coast Guard officers and met with prosecutors for the areas affected by the spill.

BP’s stock nose-dived on Tuesday, losing nearly 15 percent of its value on the first trading day since the previous best option – the so-called “top kill” – failed and was aborted at the government’s direction. It dipped steeply with Holder’s late-afternoon announcement, which also sent other energy stocks tumbling, ultimately causing the Dow Jones industrial average to tumble 112.

After six weeks of failures to block the well or divert the oil, BP was using robotic machines to carve into the twisted appendages of the crippled well. The latest attempt involved using tools resembling an oversized deli slicer and garden shears to break away the broken riser pipe so engineers can then position a cap over the well’s opening.