Trump reportedly said at an April fundraiser that the $1 billion request would be a “deal” for energy executives, while a source told The Hill earlier this year it was not framed as any sort of quid pro quo.
Still, Democrats have described the incident as corruption and have vowed to investigate it.
Two executives who reportedly attended Trump oil industry fundraisers this spring later made significant contributions to Trump-aligned political committees — something they hadn’t done in previous presidential cycles.
Cheniere Energy CEO Jack Fusco donated $250,000 to the joint fundraising Trump 47 Committee in June, according to records from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The committee then distributed $6,600 to the Trump campaign and $243,400 to the Republican National Committee (RNC).
In July, Occidental President and CEO Vicki Hollub appears to have donated $41,300 to the RNC through the Trump 47 Committee, according to the contribution memo, and another $41,300 to the RNC on the same day. Campaign finance records show she gave $6,600 to the Trump campaign and $5,000 to Save America, Trump’s leadership PAC, through Trump 47.
The Washington Post reported that Fusco attended a dinner where Trump told energy executives they should raise $1 billion to support his return to the presidency and that doing so would be a “deal” because of the money they would save on taxes and regulations. Occidental was also represented at that dinner, per the report.
Separately, the Post reported that at a different fundraiser in May, Trump promised oil and gas executives including Hollub that he would make sure they were treated better by the Federal Trade Commission.
Read more from Rachel and our colleague Taylor Giorno at TheHill.com.
