In the wake of the BP oil spill in 2010, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar attempted to impose an official moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the Gulf Coast. As justification for his policy, he offered up a government report that he claimed had the endorsement of several respected scientists.

As it turned out, this claim was a lie. The scientists came forward immediately to deny they had ever supported a blanket moratorium — in fact, the idea had not even been presented to them for review. A federal judge subsequently blocked the moratorium on the grounds that it was scientifically unjustified. In defiance of that court order, Salazar simply reimposed the moratorium, leading the same judge to find him and the U.S. government in contempt of court in February 2011.