Most Americans know very little about Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), but viewers of CNN doubtless got their fill during the BP oil spill in 2010.  He was on CNN with Anderson Cooper (and Bobby Nungesser) practically every night.  Do they know that he and his underlings think it is criminal for a criminal defendant to know how to defend himself?

Now he is the Senate co-sponsor of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal resolution.  Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is promising to call their resolution for a vote.  There should be some hearings and debate.  Sen. McConnell might want to call David Rainey, Tom Hunter, John Wright, and Paul Hseih as witnesses.

Rep. Markey tried to get the Obama DOJ to charge BP's former V.P. of exploration, David Rainey, for willfully making a fraudulent statement to federal law enforcement agents.  (Sound familiar?)

We now know the legal result.  Reuters reported:

A U.S. federal jury acquitted a former BP Plc executive on Friday of lying about how much oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010, according to lawyers on both sides of the case.

One comment ought to illustrate the demeanor of Senator Markey, the Obama DOJ, and the Green New Dealers.

In rebutting the defense argument, Justice Department lawyer Leo Tsao told the jury that Rainey knew during his interviews with the FBI and EPA agents that he had sent unrealistic numbers to Congress and the Coast Guard, "and he knew he had to defend them," Tsao said.  "That's criminal intent."

This is what we have come to expect from Democrats, criminalization of dissent.  Rainey knew he had to defend himself!  That makes him a criminal!

Note that Reuters reported:

A group of government and independent scientists later concluded that more than 60,000 barrels per day were leaking into the Gulf during the relevant time, the Department of Justice said.

How did the DOJ's flow rate hold up in court?  The final total flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico was determined at trial before Judge Carl J. Barbier, a Clinton appointee, as 3.2 million barrels of oil over 87 days.  Simple long division yields an average daily flow rate of not quite 37,000 barrels per day.  We know that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not good at math, but 37,000 is much less than 60,000.  And the disputed flow rate was early in the process, before erosion of the blowout-preventer took place.

Does this mean then-rep. Markey and the Obama administration were trying to spin the public?  Were they exaggerating to maximize the size of the fines to be paid to the government's coffers?  Were they citing "unrealistic numbers" to members of Congress?  The Senate needs to call Tom Hunter.  He was made to produce an interesting email exchange during the trial in Judge Barbier's court.  It is Exhibit 9908.

Mr. Hunter notes in his Dec. 4, 2010 email to Jed Borghei, a lawyer with the Presidents' Oil Spill Commission:

ps I noticed in the Cspan coverage of the Commissions last meeting that two points were made that are not consistent with my views.

The first is that the relief well was the critical feature in the sealing of the well.  My view is the capping stack, mud injection, and top cementing were the dominant sealing method.  The relief well was an important additional feature and an important demonstration of technology.  The discussion was about requiring a relief well as a containment feature.  I am sure everyone realizes that cement went into the well almost six weeks before the relief well intercept. 

And while we are at it, how about calling a media star, the driller of the relief well who never misses and a Halliburton stockholder, John Wright?  He's been on YouTube.  Put him on the congressional record.

And Paul Hseih was the Federal Employee of the Year!  Why not give him his due and get him to testify under oath on TV?  Let him have his fifteen minutes of fame!  He seems to be a technical whiz kid who can do long division without a calculator.