Bob Murray, whose name will forever be entwined with the Crandall coal mine disaster last summer, is back to his old antics as the investigation into the tragedy and lawsuits move ahead.

If you remember, Murray developed a very weird stand-up routine at the mine gate as rescuers tried to reach the six trapped miners. Costumed in his trademark sweater vest or mining paraphernalia, Murray sometimes launched into rambling diatribes against global warming, environmentalists and, of course, the news media.

This week, Bob's UtahAmerican Energy lawyers
blasted the Tribune in two separate letters, emailed to all news media, for a "campaign of falsehoods to make Mr. Murray a pariah in Utah."

...Your newspaper has taken every opportunity it could find to twist facts, invent stories and distort events in an effort to berate, vilify and malign [Crandall Canyon mine's management and ownership] and especially Mr. Robert E. Murray. ...

Apparently, KSL-TV, Utah's big dog of broadcasting, felt slighted. KSL reported Monday:

Eyewitness News has found the mining company may be trying to make its point to all of the news media.

Not only did Murray Energy send the letter to the Tribune, but it also sent copies to news organizations throughout the state....But some are questioning if the company is firing a "shot across the bow" to manipulate the coverage.

What did KSL "find," Trib reporters and editors wondered? The letter was addressed only to the Tribune.

Indeed, in a second letter to the Tribune, Murray's lawyers made that abundantly clear:

The Salt Lake Tribune has tried to deflect our previous criticism by stating, in a self-serving manner, that our criticism is aimed at all media in Utah or elsewhere. That is not the case, our criticism has been aimed squarely and only at the flagrantly false reporting of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Just for the record, Bob — the Trib didn't state it; KSL did.

The second letter's primary purpose was to refute a story by the Tribune's Tommy Burr that reported Murray was subpoenaed by Congress. UtahAmerican Energy's lawyer wrote the Burr story was "baseless and false" because Murray had not been "subpoenaed."

When Burr's story was proven accurate — Bob is under subpoena — UtahAmerican's lawyers "recalled" their letter last night, due to a "technical error."