State lawsuit against oil companies not possible yet

Iowa’s Department of Justice is lending a helping hand to the federal investigation of the oil industry for possible price fixing, but a separate, state probe is unlikely. Bob Brammer, a spokesman for Iowa’s Attorney General, says Attorney General Tom Miller doesn’t have the authority for an independent investigation at this point. Brammer says F-T-C investigators have contacted Miller, though, for fact-checking. Miller was a participant in the combined state and federal lawsuits against Microsoft and the tobacco industry. Iowa Ag Secretary Patty Judge believes the state’s attorney general should consider an anti-trust lawsuit against oil companies who may have gouged consumers.