"Two committees are seeking information from oil executives about a dinner where, the lawmakers say, the former president proposed a quid pro quo."
"Senate Democrats opened an investigation on Thursday into former President Donald J. Trump’s meeting with oil and gas executives last month to determine whether Mr. Trump offered a “policies-for-money transaction” when he asked for $1 billion for his 2024 campaign so he could retake the White House and delete President Biden’s climate regulations.
The investigation is the second congressional inquiry into the April 11 fund-raising dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club in Florida. Over a chopped steak dinner, Mr. Trump told about 20 oil and gas executives that they would save far more than $1 billion in avoided taxes and legal fees after he repealed environmental regulations, according to several people who were present and who requested anonymity to discuss a private event.
The former president has vowed to “drill, baby, drill” if he wins in November. He has made no secret of his plans to end Mr. Biden’s policies that support wind and solar energy as well as electric vehicles.
On Wednesday Mr. Trump headlined a fund-raiser for MAGA Inc., a super PAC, that was hosted by three oil executives at a five-star hotel in Houston. One host was Kelcy Warren, a billionaire who owns a pipeline empire with an ambitious international expansion plan that depends on new export terminals. Mr. Biden paused permits for new terminals in January. Another was Harold G. Hamm, one of the pioneers of the shale oil boom that turned the United States into the world’s largest crude producer. The third, Vicki Hollub, leads Occidental Petroleum, a Houston-based oil company."
Lisa Friedman reports for the New York Times May 23, 2024.
SEE ALSO:
"Democratic Senators Probe Oil Execs About Trump’s $1B Campaign Request" (Politico)
"Senate Democrats Launch Investigation Into Alleged Trump ‘Quid Pro Quo’ With Oil Executives" (CNN)
"Promising Pipelines And Fracking, Trump Rakes In Millions At Texas Fundraisers" (Reuters)
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