A top House Republican said the decision by a Democratic attorney general to withdraw a subpoena of Exxon Mobil exposed him as someone who’s making political moves dressed up as legal actions.
Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, said in a statement Thursday the decision by U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker was a victory over environmentalists.
“The U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General’s decision to withdraw his subpoena confirms what my committee has known all along — these legal actions were conceived and driven by environmental groups with an extreme political agenda and no actual regard for the rule of law,” Smith said.
Walker officially withdrew a subpoena against the oil giant after withering criticism from conservatives who saw the action as an attack on the First Amendment rights of Exxon Mobil and anti-climate change groups.
Walker was working in accordance with 17 Democratic attorneys general who promised to use their powers to go after Exxon Mobil for possibly covering up how the burning of fossil fuels influences climate change decades ago.
The attorneys general based their investigations on a series of articles published by Inside Climate News, the Los Angeles Times and other news outlets that reported the company had covered up findings by Exxon’s own scientists that showed manmade climate change was warming the Earth and creating risks for the company. The company adamantly denies the charges, and is asking several courts to level injunctions against the attorneys general for violating the company’s rights under the Constitution.
Walker previously filed another subpoena against the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market group that doubts climate science, because of its connections to Exxon Mobil. He was forced to walk that back as well.
Smith promised attorneys general like Walker who try to use their legal powers to prosecute companies for not believing in climate change will be subject to questioning from his committee.
“Companies, nonprofit organizations, and scientists deserve the ability to pursue research free from intimidation and threat of prosecution,” Smith said. “The committee will continue to conduct vigorous oversight to ensure the preservation of scientific freedom and the First Amendment rights of all Americans.”
