Democrat energy official briefed donors to former employers about energy policy, report

A Democratic federal energy official reportedly spoke earlier this year about her agency's priorities at a "funder" event hosted by her former workplace, despite her being warned about ethics concerns.

Commissioner Allison Clements, one of five members on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, previously worked at the climate policy group the Energy Foundation, Fox News reported Wednesday.

Clements participated in a Jan. 10 funder event for the foundation, despite an official at her former workplace who acknowledged that it may be "inappropriate" to ask her to attend the event, according to messages obtained by Institute for Energy Research, a not-for-profit that focuses on promoting free and efficient energy markets.

"Not sure if this is inappropriate to ask or not-would you be interested/willing/available to talk with funder group about FERC 2022 priorities," Energy foundation official Meredith Wingate said to Clements a month before the event, messages reportedly show.

A follow-up email two days after the event shows that Wingate thanked Clements for "presenting to our funder group" and said: "I thought your comments were very interesting and helpful in focusing our group on ways we can support successful advocacy at [the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]."

Institute for Energy Research President Tom Pyle told Fox: "At the very least, Commissioner Clements should recuse herself from voting on matters of interest to the Energy Foundation ... If she was a Republican commissioner who was this cozy with industry representatives, the left would be calling for her resignation."

Clements joined the federal government as a Democrat commissioner in December 2020.

A spokesperson for Clements said she "has an open door policy, and subject to ex parte restrictions, has held hundreds of stakeholder meetings during her time on the Commission."