White House officials today will begin their investigation of the horrific explosion that killed 29 miners in southern West Virginia a week ago. But, as in
“„All of the secrecy might make sense, if MSHA and state officials didn’t almost always allow coal company lawyers to sit in on the interviews. The only good argument for secrecy in these interviews is that allowing openness tips off the company to the direction investigators are headed, allowing them to thwart things like potential criminal prosecution down the road.
“„But if the company lawyers are in the room, well, what’s the point of the secrecy?