From Fox News:
John Kerry, President Biden’s special presidential envoy for climate change, held investments in oil companies prior to divesting from the stocks as he took over the position, according to financial forms.
Kerry’s financial disclosure forms, which were obtained by Fox News, show that the former secretary of state was financially invested in numerous oil companies, including Duke Energy, Cimarex, Dominion Energy, Exelon Corporation and Valero Energy.
As Biden’s climate envoy, he will push policies that run counter to his personal investments before taking over the post. At the same time that Kerry held investments in oil companies, he also worked with climate groups The Rise Fund, where he served as a senior adviser, and Climate Finance Partners, where he acted as chairman of the advisory board.
In early March, Kerry warned the oil and gas industry that if it doesn’t embrace clean energy it will be “sitting there with a lot of stranded assets” and “end up on the wrong side of the battle.” He also said the industry should be figuring out “how do we become not an oil-and-gas company, but how do we become an energy company.”
The financial forms show that Kerry’s total investments were valued between $4.2 million and $15 million. He was paid $5 million from Bank of America and collected hundreds of thousands in honorarium from the likes of Deutsche Bank, Zurich Insurance Company and MedStar Washington.
The State Department told Axios, which first reported on Kerry’s financial disclosure, that the climate czar has divested from all assets that could pose conflicts of interest. Kerry has signed an ethics pledge stating he will not participate in decisions involving his former clients and employers.
Kerry has also faced scrutiny over the use of his family’s private jet as he speaks out against climate change. The jet recently made a trip to Idaho as he went on an international climate tour, Fox News reported.
Read the full report here.
DEEP STATE DEPARTMENT: Trump BLASTS Kerry Over ‘Shadow Diplomacy’
President Trump unloaded on former Secretary of State John Kerry Monday morning; accusing the senior Obama aide of engaging in “illegal shadow diplomacy” over his alleged involvement in trying to save the failing Iranian nuclear agreement.
The Commander-in-Chief called-out Kerry on social media after multiple media reports accused the former diplomat of working behind-the-scenes to help salvage Barack Obama’s signature international “achievement.”
“The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!” Trump tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/993492804985872385?tfw_creator=foxnews&tfw_site=foxnews&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2F2018%2F05%2F07%2Ftrump-rips-kerry-for-possibly-illegal-shadow-diplomacy-on-iran-deal.html
The President’s comments come just days before he’s expected to announce his decision regarding the Iranian nuclear deal; calling on American allies like the UK and France to help “re-negotiate” a better agreement.
DEEP STATE DEPT. President Trump Says John Kerry ‘Should be Prosecuted’ for Iran Involvement
President Trump slammed former Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday for his continued ties to Tehran; accusing the top Obama aide of violating the Logan Act that prohibits non-officials from interfering with foreign governments.
“You know John Kerry speaks to them a lot, and John Kerry tells them not to call. That’s a violation of the Logan Act, and frankly he should be prosecuted on that,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“But my people don’t want to do anything, only the Democrats do that kind of stuff. If it were the opposite way, they’d prosecute him under the Logan Act,” he said.
Watch: Trump says former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry "should be prosecuted" under the Logan Act for interfering with potential negotiations with Iran: "Plain and simple, he shouldn't be doing that." https://t.co/2Ejtn8R7Wu pic.twitter.com/3LCaXJ1g8A
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 9, 2019
Kerry made global headlines last year when he admitted to continued contacts with Iranian officials, saying “What I have done is tried to elicit from him what Iran might be willing to do in order to change the dynamic in the Middle East for the better.”