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Oil executives' little lies

Now we know why Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, wouldn't swear in the five oil executives before they gave congressional testimony last week about their companies' eye-popping profits. Lying to Congress and the American public is business as usual, but lying under oath might actually get someone in trouble.

The executives appeared before a Senate committee to assure lawmakers that they weren't gouging consumers on gasoline prices, and that their billions in profits were a matter of simple supply and demand. Near the end of the hearing, the executives were asked if they had participated in Vice President Dick Cheney's 2001 energy task force - whose recommendations favored corporate tax breaks for oil companies over conservation.

"No," said the chief executives of Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Conoco. Shell Oil's president and BP America's chief executive were uncertain if their companies had been involved in the private discussions of energy policy.

And so it might have stood, because Cheney fought all the way to the Supreme Court to keep the list of participants secret. Except the Washington Post obtained a White House document that indicated some of those who had taken part in those sessions. The names included officials from Exxon Mobil, Conoco, Shell and BP America. Although the document didn't include Chevron, that company did provide "detailed energy policy recommendations" to the task force, the Government Accountability Office has reported.

There was nothing wrong with Cheney listening to the oil company's point of view, though he should have included the views of environmentalists and consumer advocates, as well.

And shame on the oil executives for not coming clean. Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP America and Chevron all stuck by their denials, despite the documentation to the contrary. Conoco (now ConocoPhillips) acknowledged that it had indeed met with the task force staff, but that chief executive James Mulva hadn't been aware of that fact when asked.

If the oil executives would lie about their companies' presence at a meeting, it isn't very likely they would tell the truth about the nature of their huge profits.

[Last modified November 19, 2005, 01:08:18]