Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) questioned Wells Fargo Timothy Sloan about his company's investments on Tuesday. (Photo: @EmilyKinery/Twitter)
Mar 12, 2019
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Ocasio (D-NY) proved once again her verbal interrogation skills on Tuesday as she grilled Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan over the financial giant's dubious investments and won applause for holding his feet to the fire.
The freshman congresswoman questioned bank CEO Timothy Sloan about two issues for which corporations are rarely directly held accountable--the bank's financing of human rights abuses as well as environmental disasters.
On the issue of Wells Fargo's relationship with the private prison industry and the Trump administration's child detention policy, Ocasio-Cortez asked sharply: "Mr. Sloan, why was the bank involved in the caging of children?"
In his response, Sloan announced that the bank is in the process of cutting ties with one group and has already stopped financing another--information that wasn't publicly known before the hearing.
\u201cSo @AOC gets some news out of Wells Fargo CEO Sloan: asking about its investments in private prisons, Sloan says Wells has fully exited debt financing for one company (he doesn't remember which) and will exit the other when the debt matures.\u201d— David Dayen (@David Dayen) 1552411741
The congresswoman refused to accept Sloan's claim that despite Wells Fargo's financing and debt-financing of GEO Group and CoreCivic, "we weren't directly involved in that," before moving on to the bank's investments in fossil fuel-extracting companies which have worsened the climate crisis, trampled human rights, and endangered the country's drinking water supply.
Questioning Sloan about its financing of companies that build pipelines including the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in South Dakota and the Keystone XL Pipeline, Ocasio-Cortez asked whether his bank should be held responsible for the environmental havoc wreaked by its investments.
Despite warnings from the Lakota Sioux about the danger of building DAPL, Ocasio-Cortez said, "it was built anyway, and has leaked at least five times."
"The Keystone XL in particular had one leak that sent 210,000 gallons across South Dakota," she added. "Why shouldn't the bank be held responsible for the clean-up of disasters of these projects?"
When Sloan attempted to deny that the leaks have happened--despite easily accessible information to the contrary--Ocasio-Cortez humored him.
"So hypothetically, if there was a leak from the Dakota Access Pipline, why shouldn't Wells Fargo pay for the clean-up of it if it paid for the construction of the pipeline itself?" she asked.
On social media, the progressive lawmaker's supporters wrote that Ocasio-Cortez's work on the House Financial Services and Oversight Committees has helped bring the experiences and struggles of marginalized groups--like immigrants and the indigenous activists who led the fight against DAPL--to the forefront in Congress.
\u201cAOC: "Should Wells Fargo be held responsible for the damages incurred by climate change due to the financing of fossil fuels?"\n\nIt\u2019s incredibly satisfying to watch @AOC hold banking execs accountable for their outsized role in the climate crisis.\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1552413979
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
alexandria ocasio-cortezcorporate powerdakota access pipelineimmigrationtar sandsus housewells fargo
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Ocasio (D-NY) proved once again her verbal interrogation skills on Tuesday as she grilled Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan over the financial giant's dubious investments and won applause for holding his feet to the fire.
The freshman congresswoman questioned bank CEO Timothy Sloan about two issues for which corporations are rarely directly held accountable--the bank's financing of human rights abuses as well as environmental disasters.
On the issue of Wells Fargo's relationship with the private prison industry and the Trump administration's child detention policy, Ocasio-Cortez asked sharply: "Mr. Sloan, why was the bank involved in the caging of children?"
In his response, Sloan announced that the bank is in the process of cutting ties with one group and has already stopped financing another--information that wasn't publicly known before the hearing.
\u201cSo @AOC gets some news out of Wells Fargo CEO Sloan: asking about its investments in private prisons, Sloan says Wells has fully exited debt financing for one company (he doesn't remember which) and will exit the other when the debt matures.\u201d— David Dayen (@David Dayen) 1552411741
The congresswoman refused to accept Sloan's claim that despite Wells Fargo's financing and debt-financing of GEO Group and CoreCivic, "we weren't directly involved in that," before moving on to the bank's investments in fossil fuel-extracting companies which have worsened the climate crisis, trampled human rights, and endangered the country's drinking water supply.
Questioning Sloan about its financing of companies that build pipelines including the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in South Dakota and the Keystone XL Pipeline, Ocasio-Cortez asked whether his bank should be held responsible for the environmental havoc wreaked by its investments.
Despite warnings from the Lakota Sioux about the danger of building DAPL, Ocasio-Cortez said, "it was built anyway, and has leaked at least five times."
"The Keystone XL in particular had one leak that sent 210,000 gallons across South Dakota," she added. "Why shouldn't the bank be held responsible for the clean-up of disasters of these projects?"
When Sloan attempted to deny that the leaks have happened--despite easily accessible information to the contrary--Ocasio-Cortez humored him.
"So hypothetically, if there was a leak from the Dakota Access Pipline, why shouldn't Wells Fargo pay for the clean-up of it if it paid for the construction of the pipeline itself?" she asked.
On social media, the progressive lawmaker's supporters wrote that Ocasio-Cortez's work on the House Financial Services and Oversight Committees has helped bring the experiences and struggles of marginalized groups--like immigrants and the indigenous activists who led the fight against DAPL--to the forefront in Congress.
\u201cAOC: "Should Wells Fargo be held responsible for the damages incurred by climate change due to the financing of fossil fuels?"\n\nIt\u2019s incredibly satisfying to watch @AOC hold banking execs accountable for their outsized role in the climate crisis.\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1552413979
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Ocasio (D-NY) proved once again her verbal interrogation skills on Tuesday as she grilled Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan over the financial giant's dubious investments and won applause for holding his feet to the fire.
The freshman congresswoman questioned bank CEO Timothy Sloan about two issues for which corporations are rarely directly held accountable--the bank's financing of human rights abuses as well as environmental disasters.
On the issue of Wells Fargo's relationship with the private prison industry and the Trump administration's child detention policy, Ocasio-Cortez asked sharply: "Mr. Sloan, why was the bank involved in the caging of children?"
In his response, Sloan announced that the bank is in the process of cutting ties with one group and has already stopped financing another--information that wasn't publicly known before the hearing.
\u201cSo @AOC gets some news out of Wells Fargo CEO Sloan: asking about its investments in private prisons, Sloan says Wells has fully exited debt financing for one company (he doesn't remember which) and will exit the other when the debt matures.\u201d— David Dayen (@David Dayen) 1552411741
The congresswoman refused to accept Sloan's claim that despite Wells Fargo's financing and debt-financing of GEO Group and CoreCivic, "we weren't directly involved in that," before moving on to the bank's investments in fossil fuel-extracting companies which have worsened the climate crisis, trampled human rights, and endangered the country's drinking water supply.
Questioning Sloan about its financing of companies that build pipelines including the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in South Dakota and the Keystone XL Pipeline, Ocasio-Cortez asked whether his bank should be held responsible for the environmental havoc wreaked by its investments.
Despite warnings from the Lakota Sioux about the danger of building DAPL, Ocasio-Cortez said, "it was built anyway, and has leaked at least five times."
"The Keystone XL in particular had one leak that sent 210,000 gallons across South Dakota," she added. "Why shouldn't the bank be held responsible for the clean-up of disasters of these projects?"
When Sloan attempted to deny that the leaks have happened--despite easily accessible information to the contrary--Ocasio-Cortez humored him.
"So hypothetically, if there was a leak from the Dakota Access Pipline, why shouldn't Wells Fargo pay for the clean-up of it if it paid for the construction of the pipeline itself?" she asked.
On social media, the progressive lawmaker's supporters wrote that Ocasio-Cortez's work on the House Financial Services and Oversight Committees has helped bring the experiences and struggles of marginalized groups--like immigrants and the indigenous activists who led the fight against DAPL--to the forefront in Congress.
\u201cAOC: "Should Wells Fargo be held responsible for the damages incurred by climate change due to the financing of fossil fuels?"\n\nIt\u2019s incredibly satisfying to watch @AOC hold banking execs accountable for their outsized role in the climate crisis.\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1552413979
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.