Close relationship between State Department and Keystone XL lobbyists under scrutiny

[Willinois]

The State Department's favorable attitude toward the Keystone XL Pipeline continues to be an embarrassment for the Obama administration. The Washington Post reports the latest revelations.

Quote:Elliott — who served as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s national deputy campaign manager in 2008 — sought to broker multiple meetings between senior State Department officials and TransCanada executives. He offered to enlist Trans­Canada officials’ aid in helping State officials forge an international climate agreement. And he deluged administration officials with letters testifying to the virtues of the Keystone XL expansion project, which would ship crude oil from Canada’s oil sands region to American refiners.

The State Department, which completed its environmental assessment of the project last month, has indicated that it will decide later this year whether to allow the company to construct the 1,700-mile pipeline. across the U.S.-Canada border.

More than two dozen State Department e-mails obtained by the advocacy group Friends of the Earth under a Freedom of Information Act request provide an unusual glimpse into the lobbying for the Keystone permit, which has become a battleground in the national debate over how to address climate change.

Mother Jones has a take on another lobbyist/former state official pushing for the pipeline.

Quote:One thing that also struck me is the role of David L. Goldwyn, who was the US special envoy on energy until last January. In the emails, he seems to be coaching TransCanada about how to deal with various requests and questions. Now, Goldwyn says he didn't have a role in drafting the environmental impact statement at State. But he would have had a role in decision about whether to approve the pipeline. Emphasis there is on the "would have," though, because he left the department earlier this year for a private energy consulting firm. In that role, he has testified to Congress about the "importance of Canadian oil for US energy and national security" and advocated for the pipeline's approval.

...

Quote:Now, is this concrete evidence of ethical impropriety at the State Department when it comes to the Keystone XL consideration? I think the sad truth is that it probably isn't. The revolving door between agencies and the oil industry is par for the course it seems.

I've seen a few pundits suggest Clinton might have done a better job standing up to corporate special interests than Obama has. They're out of their minds. The Keystone XL pipeline is the only chance Clinton has had and so far and her cozy relationship with industry lobbyists has been a minor scandal for the administration.

[nofurylike]

interesting.
thank you for posting that, Willinois.