INDReporter

Ex-BP executive seeks trial delay in spill case

by Walter Pierce

A former BP executive is asking a federal judge to postpone his trial on charges he concealed information from Congress about the amount of oil that was spewing from the company's blown-out well in 2010.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A former BP executive is asking a federal judge to postpone his trial on charges he concealed information from Congress about the amount of oil that was spewing from the company's blown-out well in 2010.

A trial for David Rainey is scheduled to start Jan. 28. His attorneys on Thursday asked for more time to prepare and said prosecutors don't object to a delay.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt didn't immediately rule on the request.

Rainey was BP's vice president of exploration for the Gulf of Mexico at the time of the massive Gulf spill. He was indicted last month on charges of obstruction of Congress and making false statements to law-enforcement agents.

Prosecutors said he withheld information that more oil was gushing from the well than he let on.