by James Rosen August 20, 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/20/loan-brazilian-oil-company-riles-conservatives-favor-offshore-drilling/
President Obama has opposed any expanded oil drilling off American shores largely on environmental grounds.
But now Obama may start hearing cries of "foul" after the U.S. Export-Import Bank promised Petrobras, Brazil's state-owned oil company, $2 billion in loan guarantees to help finance lucrative drilling off the shores of Rio De Janeiro.
Some see a contradiction in an executive branch agency, facilitating abroad the very kind of energy exploration Obama opposes domestically.
Then there is the George Soros angle.
The New York-based hedge fund firm controlled by the billionaire philanthropist and backer of Democratic causes and campaigns bought and sold millions of shares in Petrobras -- the largest of the firm's holdings -- prior to public disclosure of the Export-Import bank's offer of new credit guarantees to the Brazilian energy giant.
Some say the transactions do not pass the "smell test."
“Some say the transactions do not pass the “smell test.”
How could it? The fix was in, and so transparent as to be laughable.