Oil Spill Lawyers To Defend Themselves At Hearing

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Lawyers accused of wrongdoing in the handling of damage claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill are expected to testify Friday before a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is scheduled to hear from lawyers at the center of a probe into claims of fraud arising from a settlement of civil litigation following the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig disaster that sent millions of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf.

A 2013 probe, conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh, alleged several instances of wrongdoing by claimants and lawyers.

At Friday's hearing, the lawyers are expected to challenge the report's findings.

Freeh charged that lawyers with the settlement program acted improperly and in some instances illegally.