Did the Obama Administration Misstate Scientists' Views on Oil Drilling?

The U.S. Interior Department has accused the White House of misrepresenting scientists' opinions about the six-month ban on oil drilling after the BP oil spill.

An Interior Department report alleges that the White House consulted scientists on offshore drilling safety for the report, but didn't get their input on whether a ban would do any good -- and then edited a report on oil-drilling safety to inaccurately imply that scientists were in favor the ban, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The Obama Administration has faced criticism for its handling of the Deepwater Horozon rig's explosion in April and the resulting spill. The accident killed 11 workers and spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, creating widespread damage to the Gulf Coast ecosystem and economy.

White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton denied that the report misrepresented scientists' views, the AP said.