Joe Biden Claims He Didn't Know a Fossil Fuel Executive Was Hosting a Fundraiser for Him

On CNN’s climate crisis town hall Wednesday night, Joe Biden claimed to be unaware of a report from the Intercept that a fossil fuel executive would be co-hosting a fundraiser for his campaign on Thursday.

Andrew Goldman is a co-founder of Western LNG, a natural gas production and transportation company based in Houston, Texas. And just so we’re not fooling ourselves here, LNG stands for “liquefied natural gas.” Goldman also worked as an advisor to Biden during his time as a U.S. Senator from Delaware.

“He is not a fossil fuel executive,” Biden said in response to a question from Northwestern University doctoral candidate Isaac Larkin, crossing his arms.

When pushed to elaborate by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Biden said: “I didn’t realize he does that,” referring to Goldman’s fossil fuel involvement. “I was told if you look at the SEC filings he’s not listed as one of those executives. That’s what we look at. The SEC filings. Who are those executives?”

It kinda seems like no one on team Biden can use Google. It very clearly says on the website for Western LNG that Goldman is a co-founder of the company. It also says that on his LinkedIn. This is much easier investigative journalism than looking through those complicated SEC filings!

However, it just so happens that in a 2018 filing in Canada, Goldman is described as part of the company’s senior management team. “He is a long-term investor in the liquefied natural gas sector,” the filing offers helpfully.

When his time on stage had come to an end, Biden attempted to dig himself out of the hole. “What I was told by my staff,” he said, “is that he did not have any responsibility remaining to the company. He was not on the board, he was not involved in the operation of the company at all. But if that turns out to be true, then I will not in any way accept his help.”

Alright, dude.

And then, Biden’s team accused Cooper of being factually incorrect. Just a whole lot happening all around.