"President Obama will establish an independent commission to investigate the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an administration official said Monday, as the federal government came under increasing scrutiny for regulatory failures that might have contributed to the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig.

The panel will be similar to others that investigated the space shuttle Challenger explosion and the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, and will exclude current and former federal officials. It will be announced "in the coming days," according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity."

Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post May 18, 2010.
[2]
See Also:

"Presidential Commission to Scrutinize BP Oil Spill, Senators Seek Criminal Probe" (ENS)
[3]
"Senators Call for Criminal, Civil Charges Against BP" (Greenspace/LATimes) [4]

"Whistleblower Sues to Stop Another BP Rig From Operating" (ProPublica) [5]

"Disaster Plans Lacking at Deep Rigs" [6] (Wall St. Journal)

"Oil Spill Scrutiny Turns to Obama Administration" (AP)
[7]
"WWF Sees 'Severe Risk' In Arctic Oil Exploration" (Reuters) [8]

"BP chose more toxic, less effective oil dispersant manufactured by company with ‘close ties’ to oil giant." (TPM Muckraker) [9]

Whistlebower Describes Cheating On Blowout Preventer Safety Tests (Huffington Post)
[10]
"Post Gulf oil spill investigation finds blowout preventers have been prone to fail" (AP) [11]