What Trump promised oil CEOs as he asked them to steer $1 billion to his campaign

AlwaysNowNeverNotMe, 18 days ago

Goddamnet if I've ever heard of a room more in need of a half pound brick of c4 covered in a pound of pennies.

Boddhisatva, 18 days ago

Alex Witt, a senior adviser for oil and gas with Climate Power, said Trump’s promise is he will do whatever the oil industry wants if they support him. With Trump, Witt said, “everything has a price.”

Isn’t this a quid pro quo? Give my campaign a billion dollars and I’ll do this stuff for you? Everything has a price?

In 1976, announcing the Supreme Court’s landmark Buckley v. Valeo decision, Chief Justice Warren Burger set this standard for corruption: “the reality & appearance of improper influence stemming from the dependence of candidates on large campaign contributions.”

The current chief justice, John Roberts, had led an effort to tighten that broad language. Roberts, delivering the McCutcheon v. FEC ruling last year, defined corruption as “a contribution to a particular candidate in exchange for his agreeing to do a particular act within his official duties.”

He was describing a quid pro quo – the donor’s money in explicit exchange for the politician’s official favor. It’s a felony.

Just to be clear, John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the USA defined corruption as “a contribution to a particular candidate in exchange for his agreeing to do a particular act within his official duties.”

This is a blatant request for them to bribe him. New indictment incoming?

KevonLooney, 18 days ago

No, because that language refers to “a particular act”. Trump is not promising anything except “whatever”. It’s very non-specific.

Honestly it would be on brand for him to just lie.

Asafum, 18 days ago

Even still. Trump could be exceptionally precise, mention an exceedingly specific thing, and Roberts would just move the goalposts again.

formergijoe, 18 days ago

You all are wealthy enough, [Trump] said, that you should raise $1 billion to return me to the White House. At the dinner, he vowed to immediately reverse dozens of President Biden’s environmental rules and policies and stop new ones from being enacted, according to people with knowledge of the meeting…

Sounds specific.

barsquid, 18 days ago

Add it to the list of crimes, then. Maybe a judge will give him a $1,000 scolding.

disguy_ovahea, 17 days ago

It’s his plan regardless. Now he’s getting paid in advance.

nytimes.com/…/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.ht…

Pronell, 19 days ago

Putin tactic. Give me a percentage so I can become boss and demand a larger percentage.