Remember a few weeks ago when the Oil Companies were called to the Senate Hearing to answer for their outrageous profits and soaring gas prices? the GOP leadership hotly contested the idea that these executives should be sworn in before they gave testimony. Well, THANK GOODNESS for that! how else could they lie so freely?
A White House document shows that executives from big oil companies met with Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001 -- something long suspected by environmentalists but denied as recently as last week by industry officials testifying before Congress.As you may recall, Dick Cheney held meetings with his "Energy Taskforce" who's job was to come up with Gas/Energy Policy for the administration. When this taskforce was accused of being nothing more than Oil Companies developing ways to maximize profits off the government's back, the VP went it LOCK DOWN mode, refusing to discuss just who was on his taskforce. Curiously, when the energy policy was revealed, it contained everything on the Oil Company's wish list. Much of this legislation has been enacted, and the result has been soaring profits matched with soaring gas prices. This leaves little wonder to the question: Is our national energy programs made for the good of the people or the good of the corporation. presently, these goods seem mutually exclusive.
In a joint hearing last week of the Senate Energy and Commerce committees, the chief executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips said their firms did not participate in the 2001 task force. The president of Shell Oil said his company did not participate "to my knowledge," and the chief of BP America Inc. said he did not know.
Chevron was not named in the White House document, but the Government Accountability Office has found that Chevron was one of several companies that "gave detailed energy policy recommendations" to the task force. In addition, Cheney had a separate meeting with John Browne, BP's chief executive, according to a person familiar with the task force's work; that meeting is not noted in the document.
OK, now wait a minute. This could all be out of context. let's roll the tape and see what these guys REALLY said:
Toward the end of the hearing, Lautenberg asked the five executives: "Did your company or any representatives of your companies participate in Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001?" When there was no response, Lautenberg added: "The meeting . . . "
"No," said Raymond [Exxon].
"No," said Chevron Chairman David J. O'Reilly.
"We did not, no," Mulva said [Conoco].
"To be honest, I don't know," said BP America chief executive Ross Pillari, who came to the job in August 2001. "I wasn't here then."
"But your company was here," Lautenberg replied.
"Yes," Pillari said.
Shell Oil president John Hofmeister, who has held his job since earlier this year, answered last. "Not to my knowledge," he said.
2 comments:
Polly: I always figured that the Republican Senate hearings regarding Big Oil companies having to answer to charges of price gouging and their outragious profits were nothing more than a Republican PR-sham to deceive the American public into believing the Republicans were going to do something about this issue. I mean, the Republicans refused to allow the execs to be sworn in before giving their testimony--translation: We Senate Republicans are giving you Big Oil execs permission to shamelessly lie in these hearings. The Republicans were probably hoping that this hearing would be the end of this issue.
NOT! Now we have this little White House document which not only shows Big Oil was talking to Cheney's energy task force, but also catches them in the bald-face act of lying to the Senate committee. And worst, it casts ethical suspicions Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens for refusing to swear in these execs. Oh, and for your information, Ted Stevens is from Alaska--which not only has the "bridge that goes to nowhere," but also major oil and gas interests.
The Democrats have got to take control of Congress, the committee chairs, and start investigating this crass corruption that going on within both this Republican-controlled Congress, but also in the White House.
as you may or may not know, lying to congress/the senate is a crime. even if not sworn in, and therefore liable for perjury, it is another crime in and of itself. let's see if anyone DOES anything about it. I am writing
Senator Maria Cantwell (D, WA) about it tonite. (she's the senator trading words over the swearing in that you hear in the sound clips). i met her a few years ago and found her to be top notch.
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