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November 16, 2005

Were energy executives at the White House or not?

If you were invited to the White House to meet with the staff of Vice President Cheney, would you remember that trip?

Apparently, several oil company executives are having trouble remembering whether or not they, or representatives of their companies, attended meetings at the White House complex in 2001. They were held by Cheney's energy task force as the administration developed its national energy policy.

The meetings, held between February and April that year, were controversial because environmentalists said they weren't invited, and their views were therefore not represented. The White House has declined several requests to release a list of who was there. Some organizations have sued to get a list of participants.

At a Senate hearing last week, several oil executives denied participating in the energy task force meetings.

But the Washington Post reports today that it has obtained a document that shows that many of the executives were indeed at the White House to meet with the task force. The newspaper reported:

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.

The document was based on Secret Service records that show who was admitted to the White House, according to the article, written by Dana Milbank and Justin Blum.

To watch a video of the hearing, click here.
http://commerce.senate.gov/archive.energyprofits110905.ram

And this page has has links to the statements given by the executives.

Posted by Tim Barmann at November 16, 2005 3:59 PM

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