A leaked admission from a now-fired ExxonMobil lobbyist has apparently inspired Democrats on both the Natural Resources Committee and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to add publicists to their purview as they investigate Big Oil’s climate change lies. Natural Resources Committee Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Rep. Katie Porter sent out a joint letter on Monday to five public relations firms seeking information on the work they've done on behalf of oil and gas companies, along with a separate letter addressed to the American Petroleum Institute, a powerful industry trade group the lawmakers say “plays a major, active role in climate disinformation.”
The firms—FTI Consulting, Story Partners, DDC Advocacy, Blue Advertising, and Singer Associates—have worked on behalf of clients like Exxon, Venture Global LNG, pro-fossil fuel advocacy groups and PACs, the American Petroleum Institute, and Chevron. Lawmakers are seeking relevant information related to those firms’ dealings with the oil and gas industry dating as far back as Jan. 1, 2013, with a deadline of June 27. That same request was made of the American Petroleum Institute in identical no-bullshit terms:
“For decades, fossil fuel companies and associates have engaged in public relations campaigns to downplay the threat of climate change and the central role fossil fuels have played in causing it. These influence campaigns were intended to prevent the country from taking critical steps to address the climate crisis. Fossil fuel companies have partnered with PR firms to use a variety of questionable tactics to undermine legislative and regulatory environmental initiatives.”
“Thanks to the accidental truth-telling by the former ExxonMobil lobbyist, we know there is a lot to uncover about the ways fossil fuel companies spread disinformation and lies about climate change,” Grijalva said in a statement. “If we’re going to take meaningful action against climate change, we need to be armed with facts and science, not industry propaganda. The American people deserve to know the truth, and we intend to do our job to find it.” Grijalva is referring to former senior director in Exxon government affairs team senior director Keith McCoy’s admission in a leaked video that Exxon actively and knowingly waged a campaign against the Biden administration’s ambitious climate plans, pointing to the fact that “there’s nothing illegal” about fighting legitimate science with propaganda and enlisting the help of PR firms to do so.
Exxon later distanced itself from McCoy and said he was no longer an employee, though it’s unclear if the lobbyist was fired or left on his own accord. At the time, Exxon CEO Darren Woods apologized for McCoy’s comments and said they didn’t represent the company’s position and that he enthusiastically supported a carbon tax. That’s laughable considering its shady dealings with even putting out a proposed carbon tax policy, which would’ve included receiving immunity from lawsuits. The Climate Leadership Council—a pro-carbon tax coalition that includes companies like Shell, ConocoPhillips, and BP—later suspended Exxon’s membership, proving the fossil fuel company was too toxic even for its fellow polluters.
