A group of Senate Democrats are demanding to know whether President Donald Trump’s inner circle stands to profit from Venezuelan oil sales after CNN recently reported details of the administration’s private talks with the nation’s biggest oil companies.
In a letter sent Wednesday night to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, 14 Democrats are urging senior officials to “immediately disclose any financial interests” they have in companies dealing with the oil industry in Venezuela. They point to the administration’s recent sales pitch to those companies, dangling private security guarantees as they seek to convince oil executives to invest in the politically unstable country, citing CNN reporting.
The calls for transparency — led by Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, among others — come as Democrats increasingly scrutinize the White House for what they say could amount to possible insider trading. Democrats like Schiff have also previously taken aim at senior Trump officials for offering inadequate financial disclosures about their own stock-buying after taking part in market-moving tariff discussions.
The senators are also raising concerns about Trump’s close connection to a top oil executive at Vitol – the oil giant that secured the first sale of American-controlled Venezuelan oil, after that same employee attended a White House meeting on the subject earlier this month. That executive, John Addison, is a top donor to Trump’s presidential campaign.
“Given the urgency of the matter and the enormous risk of profiteering and corruption, the Administration has a heightened obligation, beyond existing financial disclosure requirements, to clarify for Congress and the American public whether and to what extent the financial ties described above exist and the concrete measures implemented, if any, to prevent the personal financial enrichment of the President and Administration officials,” they wrote in the letter, first obtained by CNN.
And, hinting at future action by Democrats should they seize back power in Washington, they added: “Such financial ties and any corrupt dealings or profiteering, moreover, will be subject to ongoing scrutiny and may lead to future accountability measures.”
Other Democrats who signed onto the letter Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the chamber’s minority leader, as well as Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Andy Kim of New Jersey and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
By CNN
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