Sen. Blumenthal floats grand jury to probe cause of rising gas prices

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http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/157497-sen...

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Sunday called for an aggressive federal probe – including a possible grand jury – into whether rising gasoline prices stem from illegal manipulation of energy markets.

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Blumenthal, Connecticut’s former attorney general, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that federal officials need to play hardball.

“I commend and applaud the president for focusing on this issue but I think there really needs to be an investigation involving, for example, subpoenas and compulsory process which I used as attorney general in similar investigations. There needs to be very possibly a grand jury to uncover the potential wrongdoing,” said Blumenthal, who was elected to the Senate last year.

“The Justice Department should take the lead, seize this moment and send a message, a very strong deterrent message that this country will not tolerate the kind of illegal speculation and trading and hedge fund activity that may be driving prices up,” he added.