Gibbs opens door to criminal probe in Gulf of Mexico oil spill

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Sunday suggested that the Justice Department may explore criminal charges related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

“I think the Justice Department has been down in the Gulf to look at and to gather information on this,” Gibbs said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” when asked whether a criminal probe may be opened.

He did not provide any details, and emphasized that the administration’s current priority is stopping the ongoing spill from oil giant BP’s damaged undersea well.

Several Senate Democrats have called for a criminal inquiry in the wake of the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig and subsequent spill.

Last Monday, eight members of the Environment and Public Works Committee wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to explore whether BP made “false and misleading statements to the federal government regarding its ability to respond to oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.”