University of Utah economics student Tim DeCristopher delayed the selling of oil and gas leases on thousands of acres of public land more than two years ago, but now his actions have him facing felony charges in a Utah federal court.

 

On December 19, 2008, DeChristopher participated in a public auction to sell off 77 parcels of federal land totaling 150,000 acres for oil and gas drilling. Although he had no money, DeChristopher bid $1.8 million for 14 parcels covering 22,000 acres of land, and in the process kept the leases from going to corporate bidders. The auction had been scheduled to take place just a month before George W. Bush was replaced as president of the United States by Barack Obama.

 

When a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) staff member at the auction asked him if he would like to be a bidder, DeChristopher said yes. “It was easier than signing up on eBay,” he would later say. When the leaders of the BLM discovered DeChristopher’s scheme, they called for a grand jury to investigate the activist. An indictment was handed down, and DeChristopher’s trial is set to begin on February 28. The judge presiding in the case, Dee Vance Benson, was appointed by President George H.W. Bush on the recommendation of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

 

DeChristopher faces two felony counts, one of making a false statement to the federal government, and one for violating the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act, which established a competitive bidding process for oil and gas leases.

 

If convicted, DeChristopher faces up to 10 years in prison and a $75,000 fine.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Climate Trial (Bidder70.org)

Out-Bidding the Oil Companies (AllGov)