AG McDaniel On ExxonMobil: “I Expect I Will Want A Lot More”

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D) says he and his staff are still combing through the more than 12,000 pages of documents provided by ExxonMobil in the wake of the oil spill near Mayflower, Arkansas two weeks ago.

McDaniel said that he’s appreciated Exxon’s prompt response to his requests, but he’s far from through.

“I expect that I will want a lot more,” McDaniel tells Talk Business Arkansas.

McDaniel said that his lawyers and investigators have been going through an initial review of the paperwork.

“It’s very technical. There’s a lot of industry jargon, codes and things that frankly we’re going to need to get help from Exxon to decipher. I’m not prepared to make any comments or characterizations about what we’ve got so far because I think it would be pretty incomplete,” he said.

McDaniel said the $4 million he’s asked ExxonMobil to provide for investigative expenses is not an arbitrary number. He is hiring disaster management personnel, industry experts, and an independent air quality team.

“To get to that point, we tried to estimate the costs and then add some to it. Four million dollars, I wouldn’t say was arbitrary by any means, but I think it will cover the costs and leave room for what may come,” he said.

On a side note, McDaniel was asked if he would play a role in the upcoming Democratic gubernatorial campaign now that he has dropped out as a candidate.  This week, former Fourth District Congressman Mike Ross is expected to join former Lt. Governor Bill Halter in the race. Arkansas Highway Commissioner John Burkhalter is also contemplating a run.

“I think me being out of the race for Governor leaves me in a position where I really should be out of the race for Governor,” McDaniel said.

You can watch his full interview below.