New York AG Sued Over Exxon Investigation

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank and advocacy group, has sued New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in New York state court in Albany. CEI wants Schneiderman to turn over so-called common interest agreements pertaining to an investigation of Exxon and other energy companies by a coalition of more than a dozen state attorneys general. In May, Schneiderman denied a request CEI had made for the documents under New York’s Freedom of Information Law. The attorneys general are alleging that ExxonMobil over a period of decades misrepresented what it knew about climate change and that it’s public positions on the issue constituted fraud. In a post on its website, CEI explains that it is “seeking all Common Interest Agreements entered into by the Office of the Attorney General and signed by, mention or otherwise include the AGs for other states or territories, as well as certain environmental activists. CEI suspects these agreements may be a pretext for shielding documents from public disclosure.” ExxonMobil laid out a somewhat fuller explanation of what it maintains this controversy is about in a post on its website last April, under the title “The coordinated attack on ExxonMobil.”