Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia apparently doesn't like being reminded that he killed a $150 billion climate change provision in President Joe Biden's Build Back Better bill that could have directly impacted his personal fortune.
The Washington Post recalls an episode in September when he was asked about his family's coal business, Enersystems, which has earned millions selling waste coal from abandoned mines to a power plant in West Virginia that “emits air pollution at a higher rate than any other plant in the state," according to the Post.
“I have been in a blind trust for 20 years. I have no idea what they’re doing,” the senator told reporters about his family’s coal firm. “You got a problem?”
That's pointed senator speak for, Shut up already, or I'll stop taking your questions.
In 2020, Manchin made $492,000 in interest, dividends, and other earnings from the family business, according to his latest financial disclosure report.
But here's the kicker: "He signed a sworn statement saying he is aware of these earnings, underscoring that he is not blind to them," write Post reporters Michael Kranish and Anna Phillips.
Oh, not so blind after all.
Manchin's stake in the company is also estimated to be worth between $1 million and $5 million—a fact he certainly isn't blind to either. Presumably, a $150 billion provision designed to speed the transition from coal to clean energy wouldn't do wonders for that several million-dollar valuation.
The actual blind trust Manchin did set up in 2012 is much less alluring, earning some $15,000 or less last year with an estimated worth south of $1 million. Though it’s impossible to pinpoint what’s in a blind trust, it clearly doesn’t include the totality of Enersystems, which has earnings and worth that were much higher.
In essence, it appears more like the blind trust serves the purpose of deflecting criticism while not actually covering some of the senator's most lucrative assets.
In fact, that's exactly the way former Obama-era general counsel and acting director of the Office of Government Ethics sees it. Don Fox said Manchin invoking his blind trust was "misleading" at best, and "at worst it’s just not true."
“The question I would ask him would be, when he says it’s in a blind trust, ‘Well, your public financial disclosure report that you sign and swear is true does not have Enersystems in the blind trust,’” Fox told the Post. “And if the blind trust is truly blind, how do you know what’s in it?”
For some reason, Manchin didn't jump at the chance to be interviewed for the story. Instead, his spokesperson sent a statement saying Manchin was "in full compliance with Senate ethics and financial disclosure rules"—a low bar if ever there was one.
"He continues to work to find a path forward on important climate legislation that maintains American leadership in energy innovation and critical energy reliability, as exemplified by the many provisions to address climate change in the Energy Act of 2020 and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” read the statement.
The House-passed version of the Build Back Better bill still includes $570 billion in climate-related provisions, a transformational investment designed to incentivize innovation in the energy sector.
The $150 billion climate initiative Manchin killed specifically aimed to reward coal- and gas-fired plants that transitioned to using cleaner energy sources such as wind, solar, and nuclear. Experts saw it as the fastest route to cutting emissions and getting the energy sector to net-zero. But Manchin wouldn't have it, and he effectively had veto power over the provision since Democrats need every single Democratic senator to vote for the package.
There's nothing illegal about Manchin's holdings, even as he chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. But morally and ethically, Manchin doesn't seem particularly proud of this revelation. He went straight from "You got a problem?" to zip-that-lip when faced with the facts of his own financial disclosure.
If Manchin wants to dispute the notion that personal profit is driving his legislative decisions, then let him do it. So far, he has notably declined.
The Washington Post recalls an episode in September when he was asked about his family's coal business, Enersystems, which has earned millions selling waste coal from abandoned mines to a power plant in West Virginia that “emits air pollution at a higher rate than any other plant in the state," according to the Post.
“I have been in a blind trust for 20 years. I have no idea what they’re doing,” the senator told reporters about his family’s coal firm. “You got a problem?”
That's pointed senator speak for, Shut up already, or I'll stop taking your questions.
In 2020, Manchin made $492,000 in interest, dividends, and other earnings from the family business, according to his latest financial disclosure report.
But here's the kicker: "He signed a sworn statement saying he is aware of these earnings, underscoring that he is not blind to them," write Post reporters Michael Kranish and Anna Phillips.
Oh, not so blind after all.
Manchin's stake in the company is also estimated to be worth between $1 million and $5 million—a fact he certainly isn't blind to either. Presumably, a $150 billion provision designed to speed the transition from coal to clean energy wouldn't do wonders for that several million-dollar valuation.
The actual blind trust Manchin did set up in 2012 is much less alluring, earning some $15,000 or less last year with an estimated worth south of $1 million. Though it’s impossible to pinpoint what’s in a blind trust, it clearly doesn’t include the totality of Enersystems, which has earnings and worth that were much higher.
In essence, it appears more like the blind trust serves the purpose of deflecting criticism while not actually covering some of the senator's most lucrative assets.
In fact, that's exactly the way former Obama-era general counsel and acting director of the Office of Government Ethics sees it. Don Fox said Manchin invoking his blind trust was "misleading" at best, and "at worst it’s just not true."
“The question I would ask him would be, when he says it’s in a blind trust, ‘Well, your public financial disclosure report that you sign and swear is true does not have Enersystems in the blind trust,’” Fox told the Post. “And if the blind trust is truly blind, how do you know what’s in it?”
For some reason, Manchin didn't jump at the chance to be interviewed for the story. Instead, his spokesperson sent a statement saying Manchin was "in full compliance with Senate ethics and financial disclosure rules"—a low bar if ever there was one.
"He continues to work to find a path forward on important climate legislation that maintains American leadership in energy innovation and critical energy reliability, as exemplified by the many provisions to address climate change in the Energy Act of 2020 and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” read the statement.
The House-passed version of the Build Back Better bill still includes $570 billion in climate-related provisions, a transformational investment designed to incentivize innovation in the energy sector.
The $150 billion climate initiative Manchin killed specifically aimed to reward coal- and gas-fired plants that transitioned to using cleaner energy sources such as wind, solar, and nuclear. Experts saw it as the fastest route to cutting emissions and getting the energy sector to net-zero. But Manchin wouldn't have it, and he effectively had veto power over the provision since Democrats need every single Democratic senator to vote for the package.
There's nothing illegal about Manchin's holdings, even as he chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. But morally and ethically, Manchin doesn't seem particularly proud of this revelation. He went straight from "You got a problem?" to zip-that-lip when faced with the facts of his own financial disclosure.
If Manchin wants to dispute the notion that personal profit is driving his legislative decisions, then let him do it. So far, he has notably declined.