2017 Last Week Tonight coal mining segment On June 18, 2017,
John Oliver hosted a
Last Week Tonight segment titled "
Coal", focusing on practices in the
American coal-mining industry. Oliver began the piece by showing President
Donald Trump's affinity for the coal industry, including shots of him during
his 2016 presidential campaign in a coal miner's hat and delivering a speech in which he told the miners to prepare to work their "asses off" when he became president. Oliver then introduced
Robert E. Murray, CEO of
Murray Energy, an outspoken critic of President
Barack Obama during his tenure for perceived incompetence and
aggression towards the coal industry. and to talk about other errors in Murray Energy's mining practices, focusing particularly on the
Crandall Canyon Mine collapse that killed nine people. The mine was operated by Genwal Resources, Inc., an affiliate of Murray Energy. Oliver pointed out that while Murray argued that the collapse was the fault of an earthquake, the federal government concluded that it was the fault of unsafe mining practices. Oliver also highlighted another story before ending the segment: when Murray Energy introduced a bonus program for coal miners, they were told that they could return their
checks if they felt the program incentivized unsafe practices. Two miners complied, returning checks for small amounts with the words "Kiss My Ass Bob" (all capitalized) and "Eat Shit Bob" written on them. Oliver also referenced a satirical article in a journal of the
United Mine Workers, alleging that Murray shared an anecdote in which he was told to start a coal mining corporation by a talking squirrel; the company denied the story. The complaint alleged that Oliver carried out a "meticulously planned attempt to assassinate the character of and reputation of Mr. Robert E. Murray and his companies". On February 21, 2018, the case was dismissed, with the judge agreeing with HBO's arguments that Murray Energy had failed to state a valid claim. Murray Energy appealed to the
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, but
four of the five justices on that court were impeached for unrelated corruption, overspending, and lack of oversight charges; the fifth justice resigned. Oliver also revealed that he had mentioned one of the justices on the court in a segment a few years prior; specifically, he had joked that the chief justice on the court,
Allen Loughry, referred to his penis as "The Gavel". The brief claimed Murray Energy was using the court as a vehicle to suppress free speech, arguing that this lawsuit "threatens the fundamental right of the media to criticize public figures and speak candidly on matters of public concern". Due to the media coverage of the brief, Murray Energy filed a response, asking the court to disregard the ACLU's brief on the basis that they did not fully disclose a financial conflict of interest with Oliver's show. The company pointed to a
Last Week Tonight segment titled "
President-Elect Trump", aired five days after the
2016 presidential election. In the segment, Oliver encouraged viewers to donate to causes perceived to be left-leaning such as
Planned Parenthood, the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,
The Trevor Project, the
Center for Reproductive Rights, and the
International Refugee Assistance Project. The company argued that this encouragement caused an "immediate surge of millions of dollars in donations to the ACLU".
Reuters, however, contended that Murray Energy did not provide suitable evidence for this claim; the response cited three news articles that did not support this argument, instead attributing the rise in donations to the result of the presidential election in general. ==Segment==