Overview
(June 5, 2015, Washington, DC) — In a precedent-setting victory, Steptoe & Johnson LLP has secured a complete defense acquittal for David Rainey, the highest ranking BP executive charged in the fatal 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest oil spill in US history. This afternoon, following two hours of deliberations, a jury in New Orleans, Louisiana found Mr. Rainey not guilty of the remaining charge against him, making false statements to FBI investigators. The acquittal followed a judge’s dismissal of an obstruction of Congress charge earlier in the week.
In a joint statement following today’s verdict, Steptoe’s Brian Heberlig and Reid Weingarten, who served as lead defense counsel, stated: "We are extremely grateful for the jury's verdict. Dave Rainey is an innocent man who was wrongly accused. The system got it right today."
Mr. Rainey, the former head of exploration for the Gulf of Mexico was first indicted nearly three years ago. He was charged with lying to a congressional subcommittee about the rate of oil gushing from the well into the Gulf, and repeating the false statements to FBI investigators. On May 20, 2013, a New Orleans federal judge dismissed the lead count of the indictment, an obstruction of Congress charge, finding that the indictment did not allege Mr. Rainey knew of the congressional investigation he was charged with obstructing, and that the obstruction of Congress statute did not apply to investigations by congressional subcommittees. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court and remanded the case for trial. On September 19, 2014 a federal grand jury issued a new indictment against Mr. Rainey to which he pleaded not guilty. The trial for his existing obstruction of Congress and false statement charges began June 1 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Steptoe scored a major victory on the first day of trial, when US District Judge Kurt Englehardt threw out the obstruction of Congress count. That ruling came after three members of Congress and six staffers subpoenaed by Mr. Rainey sought to be kept from having to testify, citing the speech or debate clause in the US Constitution.
The Steptoe defense team was led by white-collar criminal defense litigation partners Reid Weingarten and Brian Heberlig. The team included Bob Ayers, David Fragale, Scott Armstrong, Jessica Urban, Rebecca Liu, Shawn Davisson, and Bruce Bishop.
About Steptoe
Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm widely recognized for vigorous advocacy in complex litigation and arbitration, successful representation of clients before governmental agencies, and creative and practical advice in guiding business transactions. The firm has more than 500 lawyers and other professionals in offices in Beijing, Brussels, Century City, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
