Claude Walker is not exactly a household name, but it should be, and we are happy to help make it happen. Walker, the attorney general of the Virgin Islands, seems to think his territorial office places him above the United States Constitution, which guarantees to Americans the right of free political speech and publication, as well as freedom of association.
In explaining the First Amendment, teachers typically tell schoolchildren that in this country, people cannot be persecuted by power-hungry government officials for expressing unpopular points of view. With his new subpoena fired at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Walker is doing more than wasting taxpayers’ time and money on a frivolous investigation. He is in fact putting the First Amendment to the test, as are the other attorneys general involved in his scheme, notably New York’s Eric Schneiderman.
Walker’s subpoena demands that CEI, which has long been active in fighting environmental extremism, provide all documents, drafts and communications related to Exxon-Mobil and the topic of climate change policy over 10 years beginning in 1997. The demand is part of a frivolous investigation of the oil company. The theory of, or rather the excuse for this investigation is that the company might have misled investors by failing to admit that the use of its main product, oil, could contribute to global warming, which in turn could make it harder for Exxon to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean.
The cynical attorneys general don’t care about Exxon’s investors or the production capacity of the company’s Arctic Ocean rigs. Their purpose is lawfare, using taxpayer resources and the courts for radical environmental activism. It is designed to make a few big headlines (as it has), and help power-hungry attorneys general run for higher office.
It is also the new frontier (or perhaps a last resort) for the green fanatics who have found that voters are uninterested in their issue. As Bloomberg View’s Megan McArdle noted, “It seems easier to shut down dissenters than to persuade people to stop consuming lots and lots of energy-intensive goods and services.”
The subpoena of CEI is designed to exact retribution against an organization active in policy discussions. If someone were trying to design a method for suppressing advocacy they disagreed with, it would look exactly like this subpoena.
No person or organization should face legal harassment from officers of the state for public advocacy. Even the most absolute denial of any human role in global warming remains legal. It is legal to believe and say that the earth is flat. Attorneys general should dedicate their efforts to making sure this remains the case, not to turning ideas they don’t like civil or criminal offenses.
The AGs are abusing their offices and deserve to be removed from office and shunned by voters for their grandstanding. It’s bad enough when politicians promote themselves with ridiculous proposals. But all of that is small potatoes compared to this effort to use the legal system to suppress dissenting views.
