Rep. Darrell Issa has a new “Staff Report” out on the federal government’s handling of the BP disaster titled, “How the White House Public Relations Campaign on the Oil Spill is Harming the Actual Clean-up.” Well worth reading in its entirety, but here’s the conclusion:

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Reliable information about problems is a prerequisite for an effective response to any major crisis. The Gulf oil spill response effort, however, is being hindered by a selfinflicted disinformation campaign directed by the White House. A clear pattern has emerged of efforts to control and manipulate information about the oil spill and response efforts: key facts about the timeline of the spill itself have been omitted from publicly-released documents designed to describe a specific narrative of competence; resources are described as being in place when they are, in fact, absent and needed; an efficient command-and-control decision making process is publicly described, when in reality a dysfunctional consensus-based system that relies too heavily on BP is in place. Local officials who are pleading for help and resources are justifiably frustrated when requests for help are rejected by Federal officials who have read news reports and pronouncements from the White House that assets necessary for the clean-up are already in place. Additionally, direct interaction with White House officials have left an impression on officials seeking help that the White House is more concerned about silencing their criticisms than addressing their problems. A new way forward is urgently needed. The President must use his leadership to cut through environmental and other regulatory hurdles that are hindering commonsense efforts to respond to the spill. While BP and its partners clearly bear full financial responsibility for the effects of this spill, no amount of money can fully compensate for national wildlife treasures facing destruction or replace a way of life for Gulf community residents dependent on a vibrant, maritime-based economy for their livelihood. The nonfinancial costs of a botched response to the oil spill rest squarely at the feet of Federal officials.