The misplaced outrage over Hunter Biden and U.S. oil reserves bought by China

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/12/misplaced-outrage-over-hunter-biden-us-oil-reserves-bought-by-china/

No paywall
https://archive.ph/czo2z


“Pres Biden reportedly sold oil fr[om] American reserves to China’s Sinopec which Hunter Biden may still b[e] tied to via his financial ventures in China. If report correct that’s OUTRAGEOUS.”
— Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), in a tweet, July 8

Search on Twitter for “Sinopec Hunter Biden” and this is just one of many tweets from GOP lawmakers and supporters that turn up.

Meanwhile, a colleague on Friday attended a town hall held by Joe Kent, a Washington state Republican running for Congress promising to impeach President Biden. When one attendee asked about the oil sales, there were worried murmurs from the crowd and no pushback from the candidate.

What’s going on here? A basic misunderstanding of global oil markets.

The Facts

This is all started with a straightforward Reuters article that appeared this month, headlined: “Oil from U.S. reserves sent overseas as gasoline prices stay high.” The article noted that government data showed that more than 5 million barrels released from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has been exported to Europe and Asia in June.

The Biden administration is releasing oil from an emergency supply of crude oil, stored in underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast, that was first set up in the 1970s. Presidents have occasionally tapped the reserve to mitigate the disruption from an international event — such as the spike in oil prices caused by sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

*snip*

[creeksneakers2]

1. RWs really made a big deal about this.

They spread it all over the Internet.