Democrat calls for investigation into gas prices

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Sunday called for a grand jury investigation into possible wrongdoing in relation to rising gasoline prices, and urged the government to actively fight "the kind of illegal speculation and trading and hedge fund activity that may be driving prices up."

In an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," Blumenthal commended President Obama for forming a task force aimed at rooting out fraud or manipulation in the oil and gas markets, but argued that stronger actions were required.

"The problem is it is not investigatory, it is more to monitor and follow the developments," Blumenthal said of the task force to CBS' Bob Schieffer. "I commend and applaud the president for focusing on this issue, but I think there really needs to be an investigation involving, for example, subpoenas and compulsory process which I used as attorney general in similar investigations."

With gas prices nationwide averaging close to $4 per gallon, the average American will pay about $750 more for gas this year, per car, CBS News' Bill Whitaker reports, and some 75 percent of Americans say they are now or soon will be pinching pennies over pump prices.

"There needs to be very possibly a grand jury to uncover the potential wrongdoing," Blumenthal said.

When asked about a recent CBS News poll indicating that 75 percent of the American people disapprove of the Congress, the Connecticut Democrat said people had a right to be upset.

"If you're out in America the way I am... you really hear how people are still hurting, struggling to stay in their homes, to find jobs, to make ends meet," he said. "They have a right to be angry at Washington - because Washington hasn't been listening. On gasoline prices, for example. The price of gasoline in the state of Connecticut has risen from $2.99 last year to $4.14 right now."

Blumenthal said the Justice Department should be the leading player in making sure that oil and gas companies were not illegally speculating or trading on the matter.

"The Justice Department should take the lead, seize this moment and send a message, a very strong deterrent message, that this country will not tolerate the kind of illegal speculation and trading and hedge fund activity that may be driving prices up," Blumenthal said. "Just to give you one fact: The amount of trading and hedge fund activity, the energy positions, are at an all-time high in this country's history, up 64 percent from just a few years ago. And the indicia of potential illegal activity, whether civil or criminal, I think certainly justify the Department of Justice investigation immediately and comprehensively right now."

Rep. Joe Griffin (R-Ill.) told Schieffer that while "if there's something illegal going on, we need to look into that and deal with it," he didn't think a grand jury would be able to fix the country's energy crisis.

"We've been talking about energy independence for decades," he said in an interview on "Face the Nation" Sunday. "The problem is a lot of the people who talk about energy independence then pursue policies that are counter to that. We can't talk about energy independence and then say, 'But you can't drill here. You can't drill there... You start excluding all of the different options."

"There are a lot of things that we should have been doing over the years and there are different obstacles - whether it's drilling in the Gulf or whether it's drilling in ANWR, we have a lot of reserves," he said. "Ultimately we need to be energy independent."

[geeeberry]

The US Lobby Puppet President and Congress can NO LONGER BE TRUSTED to administrate this Nations needs, Rescources and People. All need to be replaced.

[1stlttightwad]

Let's double or triple the fed gas tax. Let's have $8.00 a gal. gas. Maybe, just maybe the 48% that don't pay taxes yet vote to raise taxes on all others will have some skin in the game. Perhaps, just perhaps all the people drawing a welfare check will have it drilled into their noggin that the man they thought would pay him out of HIS stash is really costing them money. I can't wait for their awakening.

[noloyalisti]

We lost this country when we let the Bushoccio Crime Family steal the 2000 election and then let their oil trash corporate masters into secret meetings to write our energy policy. We then had two invasions for oil using our tax money. They nixed alternative energy and started the propaganda to spread doubt about the fact that burning oil is causing massive and accelerating global climate change.

We need to give the American oil companies the death penalty for crimes against America and against humanity.

[nottblu]

time to come up with a new line that includes facts for a change. I will try a few just for you. Oil companies make a profit of 8% on a gallon of gasoline, the Government makes a profit of 15% on every gallon in taxes.

[1stlttightwad]

Was that like letting the unions write the Healtcare law and the bail out of GM and Chrysler. Both houses voted on the Iraq war and Al Gore got caught up in climate gate. The EPA under Obama has clamped a lid on all drilling everywhere and Obama shut down Gulf drilling No oil supply coming out of the ground equals shortages of oil, therefore higher prices. Simple supply side economics. Go to school.

[noloyalisti]

Shame on the oily scum for making $40 billion a year and paying less tax than a poor person. Shame on them for causing man made global climate change that will cost us trillions of our tax money. Shame for them for blocking alternative energy and using our military to occupy foreign countries for oil.

If they need help running their corporations for the good of the people they can get out now and turn it over to me. I'll run it for 1/100 of what they do.

[retm-w]

You'll be paying as much for a cup of coffee as you are for a gallon of gas. The Wall St. speculaters are at it with coffee commodities now.

[Empire---George____]

care for a cup of Tea ? one lump or two....however, the sources of coffee beans are vast, so I wouldn't worry about your starbucks going to 5 bucks for a venti

[EricUeland]

Those oily bastards! Shame on them for expecting to make money for providing oil to me so I can be warm in my house and get to an from work every day.

[EricUeland]

The only thing which has been manipulated is the value of the dollar, which has, perhaps unintenionally, been manipulated to be worth less. How in heavens name do you not expect the reckless borrowing and printing of money to have any other effect? If I had oil I would a whole bunch of American dollars for it right now, and I would get it too. We have a national opportunity to wake up and get back to fundamentals let's not let it go to waste.

[curse914]

Give us hard numbers to the correlation between the "value" of the dollar and the price at the pump.

[noloyalisti]

Empire how do you then explain the America corporate culture of tax evasion. I know I will still owe the government but if enough people withheld their taxes until the rich paid theirs, they would not be able to go after everyone.

Just like a general strike, it would bring the corporate owned government to their knees very quickly.

[Empire---George____]

They have thousands and thousands of IRS agents that can easily go after your tax evasion efforts, think about it, there are already millions of people trying to evade paying taxes, and they handle it quite fine, matter of fact, computers probably do most of the work

It is the tax code and the corrupt government that you should be addressing, not those who legally use the tax code to their advantage.....also be aware, many of those taxes (overseas) are only "deferred" they still owe them and have to be paid at a certain time.

[doodad68]

Thank you, people of Connecticut, for electing this twit, who has more to do with the price of oil than "speculators." He knows why fuel is so high, but he depends on the stupid to believe it's evil investors and not evil liberals who have tied the hands of domestic oil companies by making it not profitable or impossible to drill here. Again, thank you Connecticut voters!

[noloyalisti]

If these oil corporations don;t like it here where they get to make $40 billion in profits and not pay any taxes, they can leave. But they are not taking our money with them.

[jeff-fla]

Not drilling? At current there are 175 rigs drill, drilling in North Dakota right now. There are 7 to 10 new leases filled each business day. And that is just North Dakota. Crazy liberal.... Yea right.

[noloyalisti]

Hey carlacalifor, keep your hands off my government Medicare and Social Security. And keep your communist mitts off my government roads, hospitals, parks, museums and libraries. OK? Hahahaha

OK, so here is how we do the strike. Everyone raise their deductions to 12 single so we get all the money in our paychecks. If millions and millions do it, the military-industrial complex will have no money. We only pay them when the socialist filthy rich and giant corporations pay theirs.