White House document shows 'oil' executives lied about involvement with Cheney's 'task force' in 2001
"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.
"No," said Chevron Chairman David J. O'Reilly.
"We did not, no," Mulva said.
"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.
From left, Lee R. Raymond of Exxon Mobil, David J. O’Reilly of Chevron, James J. Mulva of ConocoPhillips, Ross Pillari of BP America and John Hofmeister of Shell Oil
Do you see the guy to the far left, Mr. Raymond from Exxon Mobil, and the guy in the middle, Mr. Mulva, from ConocoPhillips? They flat out lied in their testimony before the Senate's Energy and Commerce committee last week. The man second from the left, Mr. O'Reilly from Chevron and the man closest to you on the right, Mr. Hofmeister from Shell Oil, more than likely lied too, although it may be harder to prove. Only Mr. Pillari, the man second on the right, told the truth when they were all asked if they or their companies were involved with Dick Cheney's 'energy task force' in 2001.
I guess the obvious question would be, why would they lie about that? Do you think it had anything to do with them feeling guilty about the $14 billion taxpayer subsidies the oil industry received from the new 'energy policy' that came out of those meetings? Were they too embarrassed to admit to padding their pockets with taxpayer subsidies and gouging consumers at the same time?
Regardless, they lied before Congress. Democrats are demanding they come back and this time appear under oath and Ted Stevens should sit down and shut up.
Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force
"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.
The document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated.
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".
From left, Lee R. Raymond of Exxon Mobil, David J. O’Reilly of Chevron, James J. Mulva of ConocoPhillips, Ross Pillari of BP America and John Hofmeister of Shell Oil
Do you see the guy to the far left, Mr. Raymond from Exxon Mobil, and the guy in the middle, Mr. Mulva, from ConocoPhillips? They flat out lied in their testimony before the Senate's Energy and Commerce committee last week. The man second from the left, Mr. O'Reilly from Chevron and the man closest to you on the right, Mr. Hofmeister from Shell Oil, more than likely lied too, although it may be harder to prove. Only Mr. Pillari, the man second on the right, told the truth when they were all asked if they or their companies were involved with Dick Cheney's 'energy task force' in 2001.
I guess the obvious question would be, why would they lie about that? Do you think it had anything to do with them feeling guilty about the $14 billion taxpayer subsidies the oil industry received from the new 'energy policy' that came out of those meetings? Were they too embarrassed to admit to padding their pockets with taxpayer subsidies and gouging consumers at the same time?
Regardless, they lied before Congress. Democrats are demanding they come back and this time appear under oath and Ted Stevens should sit down and shut up.
Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force
