Vermont AG sued for withholding records on possible investigation of ‘climate change deniers’
http://watchdog.org/268123/vermont-attorney-general-sued-for-public-records/
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont’s Attorney General is being sued for withholding public records related to a multi-state investigation of groups opposed to climate change policies.
On Monday, two nonprofit legal centers filed a lawsuit to force Attorney General William Sorrell and Assistant Attorney General Scott Kline to turn over documents from private email accounts that discuss climate change “deniers.”
The complaint, filed by attorneys for the Energy and Environment Legal Institute and Free Market Environmental Law Clinic, says a request for documents was made on May 10 but not responded to by the extended deadline of May 24 — the longest extension allowable under Vermont law.
According to the complaint, the groups seek discussions with Matt Pawa, an environmental lawyer for the Climate Accountability Institute; Lem Srolovic, chief of the New York Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau; Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general; and John Passacantando, former executive director of Greenpeace USA. The requests contain keywords relating to a possible investigation being led by attorneys general of multiple states.
Records obtained from a prior request made in March show Sorrell and Kline have been working with Schneiderman, Srolovic and anti-fossil fuel activists on launching investigations into ExxonMobil and conservative think tanks generally opposed to climate change agendas.…
Yale law dean opposes free speech for climate skeptics
http://junkscience.com/2016/06/yale-law-dean-opposes-free-speech-for-climate-skeptics/…
Warmist Eco-Author Spoke To AG About Global Warming Skeptics Before Exxon Reports
A noted environmental activist met with an attorney general conducting an inquisition against ExxonMobil long before reports surfaced alleging the company hid information related to global warming, a panel at the Democratic Progressive Caucus revealed Wednesday.
Eco-author Naomi Oreskes, who authored Merchant of Doubt, a book about the history of global warming skepticism, told the panel that she “was invited about a year or so ago to New York to speak to the staff” of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, “mostly about the work we did in Merchant of Doubt – the history of misinformation and what our findings were.”
She is also a board member of the Climate Accountability Institute (CAI), a group responsible for manipulating data smearing Exxon. Oreskes told the panel she convened a few weeks ago “with some colleagues from the Union of Concerned Scientists, which also involved the staff of Attorney Generals offices from a number of states who came to listen to again factual presentations about climate science, history of climate disinformation and also a presentation by Sharon Eubanks who had led the US Department of justice prosecution of tobacco industry under the RICO statues.”
The climate science author was likely referring to the Attorneys General United for Clean Power, a group of about 17 attorneys general, as well as former Vice President Al Gore, committed to investigating Exxon and global warming skeptics for supposedly duping the public about climate change.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/23/famed-eco-author-spoke-to-ag-about-global-warming-skeptics-before-exxon-reports/#ixzz4CarLiSc3…
Climate Activists Admit They’ve Been Working with NY AG on Climate RICO Campaign for Over a Year
…U.S. states, Rockefellers clash with U.S. House panel on Exxon climate probes
…Alex Epstein: ‘Defend the Right to Free Speech Against Climate Fascism’
Via Alex Epstein’s email:
Last week I wrote you about how the government’s persecution of companies and think-tanks who challenge climate catastrophism extended to me–and that I responded with a righteous three-word response to the Massachusetts Attorney General and a $100,000 challenge to the leader of the campaign, Al Gore, to debate me.
The story has gotten good coverage in PJ Media, Ricochet, The Blaze, The Daily Caller, The Washington Times, Watts Up With That, Zero Hedge, Ari Armstrong’s blog.
I have never received so much positive, encouraging feedback in my life from those of you who supported my approach–but I also got some negative feedback from people, including several in the fossil fuel industry who think it is never acceptable to be disrespectful, let alone profane, to a public official.
Obviously, I disagree–I chose to use profanity in writing for the first time for very deliberate reasons. I gave some of my reasons in an interview for this excellent Ari Armstrong article:
Persecutors get away with violating rights in large part because the victims treat them as civilized. The Massachusetts Attorney General is demanding my emails at gunpoint because I have prominently voiced opinions that are contrary to hers. She is a fascist, acting profanely. “F**k off, fascist” was therefore the response she deserved.
For the general public, who may innocently misunderstand the issues regarding ExxonMobil, I explained them fully in a Forbes article. But I’m not responding to that thug (who calls herself an Attorney General) with an article.
I think most people understood my reasons, which is why my response received thousands of positive comments and made far more of an impact than the understated articles and press releases that others have written.
But even if you still disagree with how I defend our rights, if you value this country you need to be fighting for those rights in whatever way you can. If you are more upset about me using the f-word against the fascist suppression of free speech than you are about the fascist suppression of free speech then something is very wrong.
I have a standard question I now ask to anyone who is angry at me for my approach:
Have you written the AG yourself and criticized her for her suppression of free speech and attempt to destroy the fossil fuel
House GOP Pressures Dem. State AGs To Drop Attack On Climate Skeptics
…Columnist Peter Foster talks about Resolute racketeering lawsuit against Greenpeace
…Skeptic ponders: ‘Why can’t I bring a fraud suit against Al Gore?’
…Alex Epstein: ‘First The Government Went After ExxonMobil — Now They’re Going After Me’
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is persecuting ExxonMobil XOM +0.42% and now me for having opinions on fossil FOSL +1.56% fuels she disagrees with. My company, the Center for Industrial Progress, is one of the 12 cited in the new subpoena of Exxon, meaning that Exxon is supposed to release any private or confidential correspondence any of its employees have ever had with anyone from my company. I have nothing to fear whatsoever about what such a witch-hunt would or wouldn’t reveal on my end, but I do not tolerate anyone violating my rights.
So I wrote the Attorney General a three-word response that is not appropriate for a family publication. See it here.
That is all she deserved but it’s worth elaborating on some of the legal, moral, and scientific questions involved, particularly since the word “fraud” has been thrown around.
The government has no right to demand a single email of mine or Exxon’s unless it has evidence that we are committing fraud by concealing or fabricating evidence. In the case of the climate impact of CO2, this is impossible–because all the evidence about CO2 and climate is in the public domain, largely collected and disseminated by government agencies or government-funded educational institutions.
What ExxonMobil is being prosecuted for is expressing an opinion about the evidence that the government disagrees with. Or, in the case of the #ExxonKnew meme, they are being prosecuted for failing to express an opinion the government agrees with.…