Democrats are demanding answers from “Big Oil” executives after a report revealed a meeting took place with former President Donald Trump to discuss a $1 billion donation to his campaign in exchange for beneficial policies should he win the presidential election this year.
The meeting, which was first reported on by The Washington Post, took place in April at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump pitched the donation as a potential “deal” for fossil fuel companies, noting that the donation would be much smaller than the amount they’d save through tax cuts and deregulation.
Democrats are seeking to discover whether improprieties happened between Trump and the executives. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), the ranking Democratic member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, sent letters to nine Big Oil CEOs on Monday, demanding they provide details about their meeting with Trump.
“I write to request any information you may have about quid pro quo financial agreements related to U.S. energy policy that were reportedly proposed at a recent campaign fundraising dinner with ex-President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Club that you appear to have attended,” Raskin said in his letters to the companies.
Raskin is asking for the fossil fuel executives to disclose who attended the Mar-a-Lago meeting, what material was given to them by Trump, and whether any donations were given at that time or later, according to The Post.
The letters were sent to officials at Chevron, ExxonMobil, Continental Resources, Chesapeake Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Venture Global LNG, Cheniere Energy, EQT Corporation, and the American Petroleum Institute.
Raskin also noted in his letters that fossil fuel companies are reportedly drafting up executive orders and other policy initiatives for a second Trump presidency. Raskin’s letters requested that copies of those drafts be sent to him as well.
“These preparatory actions suggest that certain oil and gas companies, which have a track record of using deceitful tactics to undermine effective climate policy, may have already accepted or facilitated Mr. Trump’s explicit corrupt bargain,” Raskin said in his letters.
Despite the tone of Raskin’s missive, Democrats in the House Oversight Committee are unable to compel the executives to send the requested information, due to Republican control of the House. However, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) has indicated that he may use his powers as chair of the Senate Budget Committee (where Democrats are the majority party) to subpoena the fossil fuel companies to comply with similar future demands.
“Fossil fuel malfeasance will cost Americans trillions in climate damages, and the Budget Committee is looking at how to ensure the industry cannot simply buy off politicians in order to saddle taxpayers with the bill,” Whitehouse said.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.