Feds issue subpoenas over biofuel proposal by Carl Icahn

Federal investigators have issued subpoenas for information on Carl Icahn's efforts to change biofuel policy while serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump, regulatory filings show.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is 'seeking production of information” pertaining to Icahn's activities on the Renewable Fuel Standard, according to a form Icahn Enterprises filed last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investigators also want information on Icahn's role as an adviser to the president, the document says.

'We are cooperating with the request and are providing information in response to the subpoena,” Icahn Enterprises wrote. 'The U.S. Attorney's Office has not made any claims or allegations against us or Mr. Icahn.”

Representatives of the White House and Icahn did not respond to messages seeking comment. Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, declined to comment.

Farm-state senators including Iowa Republicans Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have fought for months against proposals to weaken the Renewable Fuel Standard - a law signed by President George W. Bush that benefits Midwest corn growers and biofuel producers.

In March, Grassley and Ernst were among 20 senators who wrote to Trump calling the proposal from Icahn and other refiners 'indefensible.”

When Trump named Icahn as an unpaid 'special adviser” on Dec. 21, 2016, he tasked the billionaire with helping to shape his regulatory agenda. By August, Icahn had left the role after drawing criticism from senators and watchdog groups for pushing a change to the renewable fuel program that would benefit CVR Energy, an oil refiner in which he owns a majority share.

Icahn wanted the Environmental Protection Agency to alter the way it administers the Renewable Fuel Standard, a program that requires refiners to use biofuels, like corn-based ethanol.

Icahn wanted the EPA to relieve refiners of that compliance burden, potentially shifting it to fuel blenders instead. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt ruled out that policy change in a letter to a handful of farm-state senators last month.

But in the initial days that change was under discussion, the price of Renewable Identification Numbers - the credits used to show compliance with these rules - fell. CVR saved about $60 million in the first quarter, regulatory filings show.

Icahn's role as an adviser to Trump had drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill as Democratic lawmakers argued his appointment ran afoul of ethics standards and presented a conflict of interest because Icahn hadn't made any obvious effort to separate his business holdings from his mandate to address regulations.

'It's clear that the company crossed a number of lines in influencing policy while Icahn had this role as special adviser,” said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at the watchdog group Public Citizen. 'It's important for prosecutors to be looking into the actions and activities of Icahn and his company around biofuel policy.”