A White House statement congratulating Exxon Mobil on a new expansion copied more than an entire paragraph directly from the oil giant's press release, a reporter found on Monday.
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White House statement copied an entire paragraph from an Exxon Mobil press release
The similarities include an entire paragraph copied nearly word for word as well as another sentence lifted nearly verbatim.
President Donald Trump signing H.R. 225 in the Oval Office on February 28.
The Exxon Mobil release, published at 3:10 p.m. ET, touted the company's plan to invest $20 billion over 10 years while creating 45,000 jobs.
Thirty-four minutes later, the White House posted its own statement featuring similar language.
First discovered by Washington Post reporter Christopher Ingraham, the similarities include an entire paragraph copied nearly word for word and another sentence the White House lifted nearly verbatim.
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The White House statement included minor deviations from the original, such as changing "U.S." to "United States."
Read the sections in question for yourself. Heres Exxon Mobils:
Followed by the White Houses:
The other sentence that appeared in both statements was a quote from Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods. In his company's release, he's quoted as saying: "And these jobs will have a multiplier effect, creating many more jobs in the communities that service these new investments."
The White House release said: "These jobs will have a multiplier effect, creating many more jobs in the community that service these new investments." The line was not written in quotation marks and did not attribute the quote to Woods.
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Journalists were quick to note President Donald Trump's close ties to Exxon Mobil, whose former CEO Rex Tillerson was confirmed as secretary of state last month.
Others compared it to accusations of plagiarism that have caused embarrassment for members of Trump's team and people once nominated for Cabinet positions, including Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, first lady Melania Trump, and Monica Crowley, who Trump picked for the National Security Council. Crowley later bowed out.
Copying and pasting aside, the White House's choice to take credit for the Exxon Mobil expansion left some people scratching their heads. As The Washington Post pointed out, Exxon Mobil launched the investment plan back in 2013, long before Trump ran for office.
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