Democrats put Ken Salazar under informal witness protection

Word came down Thursday evening from the House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats:

“The joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment entitled 'The Role of the Interior Department in the Deepwater Horizon Disaster,' scheduled for Tuesday, June 29, 2010 has been postponed. A new date and time for the hearing is to be determined.”

The star witness of the scheduled hearing? Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), top Republican on the subcommittee has repeatedly requested oversight testimony from the Obama administration on their actions in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion.

The Majority has set up the greatest Witness Protection program this Congress has seen,” Burgess said. “Secretary Salazar had already agreed to be present for next Tuesday’s hearing, so it appears that the Democrats are delaying this hearing for purely political reasons.”

Big problems arose from Salazar’s appearance before a Senate interior appropriations subcommittee when he testified of his intent to reinstate the offshore drilling ban.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs in Hornbeck v. Salazar -- the case responsible for the injunction against the drilling ban -- notified the judge of Salazar’s intent to defy his preliminary injunction after the Salazar testimony.