EXCLUSIVE — The Securities and Exchange Commission is being urged by a GOP lawmaker to withdraw a heavily scrutinized green energy proposal over “a potential conflict of interest” and legal concerns.

Internal emails obtained by the Washington Examiner and Fox News show extensive communication and meetings between the SEC and the climate software developer firm Persefoni leading up to the regulator’s March 2022 proposal that would require public companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) raised concerns over the relationship in a letter Tuesday to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler while pressing the regulator “to focus on its core mission” and yank the proposed rule — which free-market advocacy groups say could lead to a widespread crackdown on appliances reliant on oil and gas.