3 days ago
Tycoon Harold Hamm is 1 of nan US’s astir successful oilmen, nan boy of Oklahoma sharecroppers who deed it rich | arsenic a “wildcatter” and pioneered fracking techniques that drove nan shale roar successful 2008 that reversed declining US lipid production. Donald Trump describes him arsenic a “long time” friend and is said to person called him his “original lipid guy” down closed doors.
The Continental Resources laminitis has besides faced scrutiny from ambiance advocates and groups and immoderate Democratic lawmakers complete his power connected Trump and domiciled successful pushing him to spell each successful connected planet-heating fossil fuels and gut ambiance rules.
While Hamm was a key figure down nan lifting of nan 40-year-old US crude lipid export prohibition successful 2015, a lucrative move for his company, successful caller years advocates person mostly tracked Hamm’s power astatine home. For instance, nan 80-year-old helped shape nan infamous Mar-a-Lago backstage fundraiser successful 2024 astatine which Trump is reported to person asked lipid executives for $1bn to thief him get backmost into nan White House. Hamm has donated much than $2m to Trump’s 3 statesmanlike campaigns and an untold amount to thief finance his caller ballroom project.
But little attraction has been paid to Hamm’s hardline views connected Israel, Iran and US power markets, which Trump echoed while justifying nan warfare connected Iran he launched successful February and to downplay its effect connected US lipid and gasoline prices.
Hamm has been informing for years that Iran poses a threat to Israel and nan US, championing nan value of US lipid accumulation successful nan discourse of nan Middle East, while helping fortify US ties pinch Israel.
In a 2018 essay he co-wrote for nan National Review, Hamm based on that “Iran perpetuates nan virulent rhetoric that has fueled” antisemitism and that “Iran must salary for its changeless attempts to destabilize nan Middle East.”
In nan effort he besides predicted nan US would beryllium “capable of providing capable lipid to thief stabilize nan world market, nary matter what happens successful countries specified arsenic Iran” and that “[n]o longer is it nan lawsuit that nan travel of lipid to nan United States will beryllium stifled if nan Strait of Hormuz is unopen down.”
Central to Hamm’s overseas argumentation push has been nan Council for a Secure America (CSA), a Reagan-era non-profit he relaunched successful 2012 and of which he remains co-chair.
The New York City-based non-profit, which declared Iran a “looming existential threat” successful its founding ngo statement is made up of US lipid executives, erstwhile Israeli officials and erstwhile White House officials, including an intelligence designer of nan Iraq war. CSA’s founding connection besides argues: “America tin beryllium power dominant, and erstwhile that takes place, our nationalist information will beryllium strengthened, freeing ourselves of overseas power dependence.”
Registered arsenic a nationalist charity, CSA is legally barred from devoting a important portion of its activities to lobbying aliases from campaigning for a candidate. It has described its purpose arsenic educating “key audiences connected nan value of home power accumulation and technologies to American and Israeli communal nationalist information interests”.
The standard of this activity is significant.
CSA’s annual reports show that successful nan 30 months betwixt Hamas’s 7 October 2023 onslaught connected Israel and nan commencement of nan US-Israeli warfare connected Iran, nan assembly held astatine slightest 300 briefings pinch lawmakers of some parties and their staff.
CSA besides held dozens of “high-level” discussions pinch US and Israeli information experts, and a bid of “off-the-record” meetings pinch US and world dignitaries. Among them was Chris Wright, nan erstwhile fracking CEO who became power secretary. Public records show CSA members besides met privately pinch Doug Burgum, past North Dakota’s politician and now Trump’s interior secretary.
Council members met pinch Wright aliases Burgum connected astatine slightest 4 occasions successful nan past 3 years, including astatine a backstage meal successful North Dakota successful May 2024 hosted by Burgum.
Public records show that Hamm, Burgum, Wright and Wright’s woman made up half of those seated astatine nan caput array astatine that event, wherever guests dined connected walleye cakes, a beef entree and peach cobbler, and drank intoxicant supplied by Ron Ness, nan president of a North Dakota lipid group and a CSA partner. At slightest 3 different CSA members were besides successful attendance.
Wright’s past known gathering pinch CSA occurred astatine nan Argentinian embassy successful Washington DC successful May 2025.
CSA did not conflict nan specifications of this investigation aliases reply circumstantial questions astir its work. “CSA does not lobby for aliases against subject actions,” its executive director, Jennifer Sutton, said successful a connection provided by an extracurricular communications firm. “CSA’s ngo is to amended connected nan strategical value of US power security, including its domiciled successful strengthening home economical stability, reinforcing nationalist security, and advancing serene geopolitical outcomes done economical prosperity.”
Public-interest advocates who person tracked Hamm opportunity he has played a awesome domiciled successful Trump’s power argumentation making love backmost to his first campaign. “Harold Hamm very publically emerged arsenic nan lipid whisperer successful Trump’s receptor connected each things power policy,” Tyson Slocum, power head astatine Public Citizen, told nan Guardian. “Hamm speaks a connection Trump understands and he shares his wide worldview. And I deliberation astatine nan extremity of nan day, that has helped move Trump to places and positions that – if Hamm wasn’t present – Trump wouldn’t person ended up in.”
Among Hamm’s caller argumentation victories was nan Environmental Protection Agency’s determination earlier this twelvemonth to revoke nan technological uncovering connected which astir each ambiance rules remainder – a move Hamm’s lipid waste and acquisition group, nan Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, pushed for moreover arsenic different lipid and state powerfulness players expressed 2nd thoughts astir nan repeal, which mightiness impact their efforts to quash ambiance lawsuits.
Since Trump returned to powerfulness Hamm has made astatine slightest 2 known trips to nan Oval Office.
In January, Hamm took portion successful a roundtable of US lipid leaders pursuing nan subject action Trump ordered successful Venezuela that toppled Nicolás Maduro. At nan gathering Trump called Hamm an “amazing power person” and asked him if location was truth to a communicative that “he tin look astatine a portion of land, put a straw into nan onshore and lipid pours out”.
Hamm has backed Trump’s involution successful Venezuela – but nan lipid billionaire, and CSA, has been much focused connected Iran and nan Middle East.
Following Hamas’s 2023 attacks, CSA began issuing “War Reports” that highlighted Iran’s ties to Hamas and Hezbollah and warned that Iran’s proxies mightiness perpetrate acts of coercion connected US soil. In 2024, CSA began commissioning polls successful reddish states showing support from “American voters” for “US subject engagement successful nan region”. After nan US and Israel bombed Iran successful June 2025, CSA’s executive head declared nan conflict “a defining trial of Western resoluteness successful nan look of authoritarian aggression”.
A self-described “alliance betwixt nan American lipid and state manufacture and nan pro-Israel community”, CSA members see nan American Petroleum Institute elder vice-president, Dustin Meyer, an intelligence Iraq warfare designer and longtime GOP nationalist information advisor Elliott Abrams, erstwhile Trump caput of authorities Mike Pompeo, erstwhile Democratic US legislator Evan Bayh and Yossi Kuperwasser, an Israeli reserve brigadier wide who antecedently led investigation for his country’s subject intelligence.
Hamm rebooted CSA successful 2012 aft it had fallen dormant having successfully protected national drilling taxation breaks successful nan 1980s. It quickly began taking lipid executives connected trips to Israel to meet pinch authorities officials. During 1 specified trip, successful February 2013, Hamm and his group visited nan Western Wall, toured a subject base, and met pinch nan premier minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, arsenic documented by local reporters and photographs antecedently hosted connected nan CSA website.
CSA has besides cultivated an informal roster of what it calls “CSA friends” and “CSA family”, 4 of whom service successful nan existent Trump administration, including Wright.
Wright and Burgum are longtime allies of Hamm, who has hailed their roles arsenic Trump’s apical power advisers arsenic “a dream squad of unimaginable proportions”. Before nan war, some Burgum and Wright echoed Hamm’s prediction it would not person an effect connected US power prices.
Speaking astatine a DC thinktank successful autumn 2025, Burgum recounted really Trump asked earlier launching strikes connected Iran’s atomic accommodation that summertime what effect they would person connected US energy. “You cognize what nan advisers had an opportunity to say?” Burgum said. “‘Nothing.’ Nothing astatine all. It’s not going to alteration nan value of nan pump, because conjecture what? The US, we don’t get immoderate lipid immoderate much retired of nan strait of Hormuz.”
Trump struck nan aforesaid statement aft starting nan warfare successful February, declaring, “We don’t usage nan strait – nan United States, we don’t request it.”
The White House declined to remark connected nan grounds astir whether Hamm ever said straight pinch Trump astir Iran but said that nan president was “the last decision-maker” and “has been remarkably accordant for years [that] Iran tin ne'er beryllium allowed to get a atomic weapon”.
“President Trump makes each argumentation decisions based connected what is champion for nan American group – which includes unleashing American power power to little prices for Americans and fortify our country’s nationalist security,” spokesperson Taylor Rogers said successful a written statement. “The media’s continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of liking are irresponsible and reenforce nan public’s distrust successful what they read.”
In January, arsenic US lipid prices neared post-pandemic lows, Hamm announced his institution would extremity drilling caller wells successful North Dakota. It would beryllium nan first clip this period that Hamm would not person an progressive rig successful nan authorities wherever he had made his fortune. “There’s nary request to drill it erstwhile margins are fundamentally gone,” he said.
But Hamm soon changed his mind. He announced successful May that Continental would alternatively boost spending to capitalize connected rising power prices. It was nan first clip a US lipid institution declared publically that it would summation accumulation because of nan war. “We’re not giving it distant now,” Hamm said arsenic US crude hovered astir $100 per barrel, up much than 60% connected nan year.
Oil prices concisely returned to pre-war levels successful nan aftermath of past month’s impermanent US-Iranian truce, but past roseate again aft some sides continued to speech subject strikes. The warfare has already had a important economical effect successful nan US. Americans person paid an further $67bn and counting for substance because of it, Brown University researchers estimate, while US lipid companies person reported windfall profits this year.
The logic US lipid prices person moved mostly successful statement pinch world ones since nan warfare began is because US lipid is sold connected nan world market, experts say. “You cannot extricate nan US from nan world petroleum economy,” Michael Klare, a Five Colleges professor emeritus who has written extensively astir lipid and US overseas policy, told nan Guardian.
“If there’s a severing of lipid to nan remainder of nan world, moreover if nan US still has plenty, it has consequences that rustle backmost connected to nan US pinch higher prices [at home], arsenic good arsenic strategical consequences for US allies.”
Hamm’s critics opportunity he should beryllium good alert of that fixed his domiciled successful lifting nan prohibition connected US lipid exports. “‘Energy dominance’ ne'er really meant cheaper prices for American consumers – it meant giving Harold Hamm much lipid to export to overseas countries,” Aaron Weiss, executive head of nan Center for Western Priorities, said.
“And nan Iran warfare has yet laid that dishonesty bare successful a measurement that Donald Trump cannot explain.”
Continental did not respond to a petition for comment.
Hamm has said that he was unbothered by nan value spikes and expressed indifference toward Americans who paid much astatine nan pump. “I really don’t consciousness bad,” he said successful May. “These folks are driving down nan roadworthy pinch nan $80,000 F-150 and we’re astatine astir $4 gas.”
Hamm, whose estimated nett worthy is $20bn, added: “It’s each relative.”
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This communicative is successful business pinch Fieldnotes, an investigative non-profit focused connected nan lipid and state industry, which has published a longer version.
