A think tank asked the D.C. Superior Court to fine the U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general who subpoenaed it as a part of his investigation into what Exxon Mobil knew about climate change.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute announced Monday it asked the court to fine Claude Walker for violating its First Amendment rights. The subpoena is an attempt to uncover information about Exxon Mobil’s donations to the group between 1997 and 2007, and the institute argues it is being targeted for holding a different view of climate science.
“Mr. Walker’s attempt to silence us and others who share our views is an unconstitutional abomination,” said Kent Lassman, president of the institute. “CEI will not sit still with this illegal threat hanging over our head, which is why we are asking the court to fine AG Walker and end his abuse of the legal process to intimidate CEI.”
According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Walker withdrew his subpoena of the agency late Friday but left open the possibility of continuing the investigation in the future.
Walker joined other state attorneys general in investigating Exxon Mobil and its connection to climate science in mid-March and immediately became the most aggressive investigator.
The investigation is based on media reports that Exxon Mobil learned in 1977 from a senior scientist that burning fossil fuels would warm the planet. A year later, the company began researching how carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels would affect the planet.
After 10 years of exploring the problem, Exxon Mobil — then just Exxon — decided to “engage in a campaign of denial and disinformation,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in an October letter to the company.
In 1982, the company prepared an internal document on carbon dioxide and climate change that stated “major reduction” in fossil fuel use would be needed to avoid catastrophic events. While that was circulating, Exxon Mobil didn’t tell regulators about their findings, according to the Inside Climate News report.
Six years after the internal document was produced, Exxon Mobil went on the offensive, according to the report. The company began paying for efforts that would cast doubt on climate change, including founding the Global Climate Coalition.
At the same time, the company was building climate change projections into the company’s future plans. Among those plans was future drilling in the Arctic because the polar ice caps would melt.
Exxon Mobil has repeatedly denied the claims and has cast aspersions on the media reports, noting that Inside Climate News received funding from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which works against climate change.
On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange intervened on behalf of the oil companies.
According to a court document filed Monday morning, the attorneys general said they believe Walker is overstepping his legal bounds.
“General Walker’s investigation appears to be driven by ideology, and not law, as demonstrated not only by his collusion with Cohen Milstein [a law firm], but also by his request for almost four decades worth of material from a company with no business operations, employees, or assets in the Virgin Islands,” the court filing stated.
