Lawmakers demand details of a Mar-a-Lago dinner where Trump promised to ease regulations on the oil industry while asking executives to steer $1 billion to his 2024 campaign.

House Democrats are launching an investigation into Donald Trump’s meeting with oil executives last month at his Mar-a-Lago Club, where the former president asked the executives to steer $1 billion to his 2024 campaign and promised to reverse dozens of President Biden’s environmental policies.

The probe comes after The Washington Post on Thursday first reported the fundraising dinner, where Trump said that giving $1 billion would be a “deal” because of the taxation and regulation the oil companies would avoid thanks to him, according to people with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation.

In letters sent Monday evening, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee asked nine oil executives to provide detailed information on their companies’ participation in the meeting. The Democrats voiced concern that Trump’s request at the dinner may have been a quid pro quo and may have violated campaign finance laws, although experts say his conduct probably did not cross the threshold of being illegal.

Lawmakers sent the letters to the CEOs of Cheniere Energy, Chesapeake Energy, Chevron, Continental Resources, EQT Corporation, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum and Venture Global. They also fired off a missive to the head of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s top lobbying arm in Washington.

Non-paywall link

  • reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.ml
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    6 months ago

    This wouldn’t be such a problem if he was in prison where any of us would be had we committed his extensive list of crimes.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      None of those charges have completed trial yet. All he’s done so far with his power and money is postpone the inevitable. If he’s found not guilty of the 88 criminal charges, then I’d agree with you.

      • jballs@sh.itjust.works
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        6 months ago

        I would love to have your optimism. I have no doubt that he’ll be found guilty for some - probably not all, but hopefully a significant amount - of the charges against him. However, I am highly skeptical about him facing any serious consequences.

        He has the political power and wealth to delay justice indefinitely. If he’s found guilty, I highly doubt a judge will have the courage to sentence him to jail. Even then, he’ll spend years appealing and delaying. If he’s reelected, that will make things even more complicated, likely delaying many of his pending cases. Then he’d be 82 years old at the end of this term. Starting trials then, with their endless appeals and delays, would never result in him facing jail.

        The best case scenario is that he loses all his trials and loses the election. Assuming some judge is ballsy enough to sentence him to jail, he will still be able to drag this out in appeals until his hamberder stuffed heart gives out.

  • kandoh@reddthat.com
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    6 months ago

    Bold to ask for a billion dollars to undue all environmental regulations that Biden implemented when they know you’ll do it for free

    Because what else are you going to do?

  • AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    What type of food do you serve at a billion dollar oil fundraiser and what kind of invites do you think will get those doners to come to my house and give me money to “stop regulation”?