Los Angeles, CA – Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court wrote to the leaders of the University of Southern California today asking that it investigate USC Marshall School of Business professor Michael Mische for a violation of the university’s conflict of interest code.
Mische published a paper decrying the potential for $8 per gallon gasoline and calling for breaks for the refining and oil production industry. Mische neglected to disclose that one of the largest clients of his consulting firm is one of the world’s largest refiners and oil producers, Saudia Arabia.
Read Court’s letter.
“The recommendations from Mische’s report are a treasure trove of tax subsidies and giveaways to both the refining and oil production sector,” Court wrote. “Saudia Arabia’s state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco has an interest in refining in the United States. There is no question that the policies Mische advocates will inure to the benefit of his client.
“Nonetheless, Sacramento lawmakers are unaware of Mische’s ties because of his failure to disclose them, and at least one, Assembly member Brian Jones, is advocating for his policies in a vacuum.
“There is no question that Mische’s work would be looked at differently if people knew he was an associate of Crown Prince MBS, which is why Mische has likely not disclosed that fact. In failing to do so, he dishonors USC and its tradition of ethics.”
Based on Mische’s response in the media to the conflict of interest allegations, Court filed supplemental information with USC pointing out Mische’s misstatements and obfuscations, calling them “unbecoming conduct for an academic.”
