His office has either received such a letter or will soon as the request by the DOJ is being made to all state attorneys general following President Donald Trump’s contention that there has been price gouging. He made the claim in a Truth Social post last month, where the President pointed to falling oil prices and asserted that gas prices should be dropping as quickly too. He contended that large oil companies are engaging in anticompetitive behavior.
“The big oil companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for oil. Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged,'” Trump said, adding that he was directing the DOJ to investigate, according to a report by Just The News.
The letter sent to AG Drummond in Oklahoma and other AGs across the country, made the claim, “Although crude oil prices are now dropping rapidly, far too much of that price cut is being withheld from Americans when they pay for gasoline. High gas prices hit everyone’s pocketbooks—workers who commute to their jobs, small business owners who depend on fuel for deliveries, and families paying more for goods shipped to their
neighborhood stores.”
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Junior and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, told the attorneys general, “We urge state law enforcers to join us in investigating illegal practices. Recent volatility in crude oil prices does not suspend either the antitrust laws or state consumer protection laws, and it does not authorize companies to manipulate retail prices or collude with their competitors. Business may not use market volatility as cover for anticompetitive practices, fraud, or any other lawlessness that harms Americans.”
In their letter, the FTC and DOJ explain that antitrust laws “govern the trade of oil and fuel no differently than any other market” and directed state attorneys general to “use all tools available” under their state laws to “investigate and prosecute any misconduct causing unjustified price increases.”
“Companies and individuals who seek to unlawfully exploit our nation’s citizens will face federal investigation, civil liability, and criminal prosecution,” the letter warns.
A recent AAA gas price report showed the nation’s average gasoline price was $3.82 while Oklahoma’s average price was $3.35. The state’s average was 5 cents below the average of a week ago and 41 cents less than a month earlier. The average was down to $3.25 per gallon in Tulsa and $3.35 in Oklahoma City. Coal County in the southeast part of the state had an average of $4.21 per gallon.
