Closing arguments set in ex-BP executive Rainey’s trial

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Testimony is over and closing arguments are set in the federal trial of a former BP executive charged with lying to investigators about oil spill calculations he made following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Jurors could begin deliberating the single count against David Rainey by midday Friday.

Rainey was tasked with estimating how much oil was spewing into the Gulf of Mexico days after the explosion. Prosecutors say he manipulated his calculations to match a much-too-low early government estimate. He’s charged with making a false statement to investigators about it a year later.

Defense attorneys said Rainey did the best he could with too little information in the days of the spill – which lasted for 87 days – and he had no reason to lie.

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