Democrats Kick Off Their Election Year Silly Season With Attacks on 'Big Oil'

It happens along about May in any election year during which Democrats hold a majority in either house of congress: The Silly Season of show trial hearings targeting Big Oil begin. Last week we found out this year will be no exception.

The first step comes when Sr. Democrats on certain committees fire off hyperbolic letters to CEOs of “Big Oil” companies accusing them of all sorts of nefarious activities. Most frequently, the accusations consist of accusing them and their companies of engaging in “collusion” to “fix prices” for gasoline at the pump, always without asserting a shred of evidence. Not surprisingly, that very accusation forms part of the basis for this year’s round of Silly Season hearings.

The Senate Finance Committee, led by Democrat senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, sent letters to 8 “Big Oil” companies and a major oil industry trade association last week demanding information related to a fundraising dinner held April 11 at Former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home. The senators accuse Mr. Trump of working to trade policy for campaign contributions, which most involved in the political process in Washington, DC refer to as “campaigning.”

For the Senators, it’s a low-hanging fruit case of going after two of their favorite political boogeymen – Mr. Trump and “Big Oil” – at the same time, an opportunity too good to pass up. The hyperbolic language in their letter reveals the tiresome partisan politics at play.

“Time and time again, both Mr. Trump and the U.S. oil and gas industry have proved they are willing to sell out Americans to pad their own pockets,” write the senators. “As Mr. Trump funnels campaign money into his businesses and uses it as a slush fund to pay his legal fees, Big Oil has been lobbying aggressively to protect and expand its profits at the expense of the American taxpayer.”

Politico notes that the letter is just the latest in a series of inquiries targeting the oil and gas industry launched by congressional Democrats in recent weeks as the campaign season heats up and Election Day nears. “Democrats have upped the political ante against the industry just as oil company executives have started opening their wallets to back Trump’s campaign against President Joe Biden,” notes Politico reporter Ben Lefebvre.