In Louisiana we call this putting the fox in charge of the hen house,

That's where the fox is in the hen house. They can make data appear how they want it to appear.

Why does he insist on asking the fox how many chickens are still in the hen house?

For the Department of Energy to conduct this investigation is like the fox watching the hen house.

The problem is having the fox in charge of the henhouse,

The problem is having the fox in charge of the henhouse.