I read about this when Larmar Smith (Dummy, R) Texas first threatened a host of AG’s with subpoenas. It’s an amazing precendent, threatening a state’s AG, not with interfering with a congrssional probe, but merely having the audacity to question Exxon’s veracity over the years on climate change!
To their credit, each and every AG so far has declined to answer the subpoenas or appear in front of his circus of a committee. Smith can bluster all he wants but now he’s the toothless fool without any further ability to impede or harm the AG’s investigations.
More reason we need to regain the House and send this all-hat/no cattle Texan back to shite stompin in the bull pen!
“Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chair of the committee, has subpoenaed the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general, arguing that the state probes are politically motivated and could intimidate scientists.”
These idiots can’t NOT doublethink. I’m beginning to think it’s congenital.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chair of the committee, has subpoenaed the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general, arguing that the state probes are politically motivated and could intimidate scientists.
And he would know, since that is exactly what he tried to do with NOAA last year:
Some see a bit of a parallel between the Soviet-style intimidation and a recent campaign in the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, where Chairman Lamar Smith has pressed forward with a probe questioning the processes and findings of a federal scientific agency – one that has led critics to accuse the Texas Republican of abusing his power and to warn of a chilling effect on further scientific research. Smith has demanded via subpoena, public pronouncements and heated letters that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration turn over internal emails on global warming research. The Texas Republican also has sought to bring agency staffers and NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan into closed-door, deposition-like interviews.
threatening a state’s AG, not with interfering with a congrssional probe, but merely having the audacity to question Exxon’s veracity over the years on climate change!
What the AG is questioning is Exxon’s compliance with SEC disclosure rules. IOW, did Exxon deliberately hide materially significant information from its shareholders. It doesn’t actually matter if the science turns out later to be inaccurate. The question is, were the findings materially significant…would it affect the value of Exxon’s stock if these findings were made public? That’s a much lower bar than, Was the science accurate.
The crucial factor here is that this case is not about science. The science can be completely bogus, and the case still exists that Exxon may have withheld materially significant information from its shareholders – a violation of fiduciary duty.
Yes, and his quest isn’t for the truth at all. It’s to suppress any effort that might indict Exxon for materially hiding data from stockholders that might depress stock prices. His committee therefore would have no jurisdiction to investigate anything any AG does since you are correct, it’s not the science itself in question but the years long efforts to hold up stock prices.
Smith and his ilk know this but now have been caught, so to speak. The AG’s are still moving forward with their multiple investigations after figuratively flipping the bird to him and his committee members!