Political Junky
Gold Member
- May 27, 2009
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washingtonpost.com
BP gave money in spite of policy, records show
BP, the global energy corporation whose massive oil spill is now fouling huge swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, proclaims in its corporate code of conduct that it will "make no political contributions, whether in cash or in kind, anywhere in the world."
But BP North America -- the energy giant's U.S. subsidiary -- has donated at least $4.8 million in corporate contributions in the past seven years to political groups, partisan organizations and campaigns engaged in federal and state elections, an analysis of campaign and tax records shows.
Its most generous corporate contributions -- totaling about $4 million -- have gone to two Republican-aligned political action groups working to defeat state ballot initiatives in California and Colorado that could have raised oil and gas industry taxes, according to an analysis of state campaign reports by the Center for Political Accountability. On the national scene, BP spent about $112,000 in corporate money to boost the coffers of Democratic and Republican party organizations seeking to elect candidates to higher office, primarily the Democratic Governors Association and the Republican State Leadership Committee. <more>
BP gave money in spite of policy, records show
BP, the global energy corporation whose massive oil spill is now fouling huge swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, proclaims in its corporate code of conduct that it will "make no political contributions, whether in cash or in kind, anywhere in the world."
But BP North America -- the energy giant's U.S. subsidiary -- has donated at least $4.8 million in corporate contributions in the past seven years to political groups, partisan organizations and campaigns engaged in federal and state elections, an analysis of campaign and tax records shows.
Its most generous corporate contributions -- totaling about $4 million -- have gone to two Republican-aligned political action groups working to defeat state ballot initiatives in California and Colorado that could have raised oil and gas industry taxes, according to an analysis of state campaign reports by the Center for Political Accountability. On the national scene, BP spent about $112,000 in corporate money to boost the coffers of Democratic and Republican party organizations seeking to elect candidates to higher office, primarily the Democratic Governors Association and the Republican State Leadership Committee. <more>
