June 8, 2005: Media reveals Philip Cooney — a White House official who worked for the oil industry before joining the administration — is altering government documents to downplay links between fossil fuels and global warming.
A White House official [Philip Cooney] who once led the oil industry’s fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents.
June 10, 2005: Amid controversy Cooney Resigns.
Philip A. Cooney, the chief of staff to President Bush’s Council on Environmental Quality, resigned yesterday, White House officials said.
June 13, 2005: Cooney hired by ExxonMobil.
Philip A. Cooney, the White House staff member who repeatedly revised government scientific reports on global warming, will go to work for ExxonMobil in the fall, the oil company said today.
In case you have any doubt about why ExxonMobil hired him, check out this morning’s Wall Street Journal:
Openly and unapologetically, the world’s No. 1 oil company disputes the notion that fossil fuels are the main cause of global warming. Along with the Bush administration, Exxon opposes the Kyoto accord and the very idea of capping global-warming emissions.
The headlines will read that Cooney was hired by Exxon today. The reality is he never stopped working there. The taxpayers were just taking care of his salary for the last few years.
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