The White House and OfferGate
Hans von Spakovsky /
Imagine this hypothetical: An independent oil company executive accuses BP of offering him a job if he’ll stop competing against a BP subsidiary — a potentially illegal dealing under federal criminal law. BP denies the accusation for months. Then, suddenly, its in-house counsel releases a two-page memo summarizing the results of an internal “investigation.” The memo claims that, although the CEO’s chief of staff asked a former BP CEO to approach the individual and offer an “advisory” position, the “allegations of improper conduct rest on factual errors and lack a basis in the law.”
Oh, and by the way:
- The ex-CEO was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice in an infamous case, but the matter was dropped when he agreed to give up his law license;
- No one involved in the inside investigation was examined under oath; and
- The memo is completely silent on the extent of the investigation (e.g., whether any written documents, phone logs, or emails were reviewed), whether BP’s CEO knew what his chief of staff was doing or whether he approved it.