Polygraph

Donald Trump created an oil company with Hegesiph within the Defense Department.

Posted by The MeidasTouch Podcast, Checked

Polygraph verdictMixed
Sources
1 contradict4 support1 context
Said
1 time·
Confidence
60%
The MeidasTouch PodcastSep 15, 2026
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The sources support that Trump announced an oil deal creating a joint venture in which the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital takes a stake, and that Defense Secretary Hegseth co-signed the agreement.

What was said

… We wouldn't need our Defense Department to create a communist authoritarian structure oil company to do deals with Venezuela if our private industry thought there were great investments to be made in Venezuela. So the reality is that that's why Trump created an oil company with Hegesiph that's in the Defense Department, which is unlawful, and then talks about barrels of oil that aren't going to happen ever. So, you know, it's in any event, there has been some previous oil that would have gone to Venezuela that the Us. Stole and took. So where's the money? Right? …
The MeidasTouch Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Contradicts. Houston Chronicle describes the venture as a private firm incorporated in Barbados in which the Pentagon is only a minority partner, which conflicts with the idea that the oil company sits within the Defense Department.[3]

Supports. The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital is the leading U.S. entity forming a partnership with a private oil producer, and Hegseth co-signed the deal with Rubio.[2][4][5]

Supports. NPR reports the U.S. is creating a private company as a joint venture with North American Blue Energy Partners, giving the Pentagon a stake over roughly a fifth of Venezuela's reserves.[6]

Context. The deal's partner is a private operator, North American Blue Energy Partners, and the U.S. government's stake is 35% of its corporate parent, per Reuters and ProPublica.[1][5]

Sources

6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 1 not rated, 3 tier 2

  1. 1Trump touted a record Venezuela oil deal. Now reality is setting inreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
  2. 2Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces Historic ...whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
  3. 3Donald Trump strikes a shady socialist oil deal with Venezuela's dictatorhoustonchronicle.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
  4. 4How the Pentagon Is Getting Into the Venezuelan Oil ...nytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
  5. 5The Secret Terms of Trump's Venezuelan Oil Dealpropublica.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
  6. 6White House fills in some of the details in Venezuela oil dealnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports

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