GAO

From The Washington Times:     Read more and see the documents at Climate Litigation Watch.

Energy Policy Advocates and Rob Schilling previously filed a motion to intervene in the New York Attorney General’s case against ExxonMobil, which ended in a “debacle” for the activist NY AG (for three of them, in fact…). Their purpose is the limited one of unsealing certain records showing OAG’s relationship with the plaintiff’s tort lawyer Matt Pawa, who a major…

From Energy in Depth:   Transparency in the Public Interest According to the group’s website, EPA’s purpose is to “bring transparency to the realm of energy and environmental policy.” Their memo replying to the attorney general’s opposition (they refer to the attorney general by the acronym “OAG”) explains that they are acting in accordance with that mission: “OAG has failed…

Seeks Release of Memos Relating to “Climate Change” Plaintiffs’ Tort Campaign Cites Unfolding Revelations of Tort Lawyer Influence on Attorneys General, AG Ferguson’s Practice of Improperly Withholding Non-Privileged Information, and New Records OLYMPIA, WA – On Wednesday, the public interest law firm Government Accountability & Oversight, P.C. (GAO) filed a Public Records Act (PRA) lawsuit against Washington State Attorney General…

From Real Clear Energy: One state official from the Mountain West voiced the obvious concern among his team “to be careful about keeping” members of his political party [“Ds”] in office. That is not always easy given friends like theirs. According to New Mexico’s [Energy Secretary Sarah Cottrell] Propst, the climate activist officials’ green group NGO allies — called NGOs,…

From Real Clear Energy, and following up this post: One state official from the Mountain West voiced the obvious concern among his team “to be careful about keeping” members of his political party in office. Hat-tip Nevada’s David Bobzien or Bradley Crowell.

From RCE: The notes indicate that former Obama Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is not being helpful, saying mildly favorable things about natural gas: “Ernie Moniz saying gas is a bridge fuel.” Meaning, gas as a replacement for coal while renewable energy continues its struggle to become reliable and economic. Climate activist politicians attempt this straddle with some regularity. But it…

More from GAO Board Member Chris Horner’s piece in Real Clear Energy: The tension is further exposed in New Mexico’s Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Minerals, & Natural Resources Department, diagnosing the “problem,” which is the state’s booming oil & gas production. Per the notes, Sarah Cottrell Propst bemoans the “problem is oil production in Permian [is] 1.5b/month in commerce, 400%…

GAO Board Member Chris Horner has a piece in Real Clear Energy unveiling the findings of a series of Energy Policy Advocates’ public records requests. GAO will post some of the eye-openers. In order: The handwritten notes, taken by Carla Frisch of RBF-beneficiary and meeting sherpa Rocky Mountain Institute, are particularly clarifying. The Chief Policy Advisor to New Jersey Gov.…

PRESS RELEASE: November 4, 2019 8:00 AM Citing Newly Obtained Paris Climate Treaty Memo, GAO Files Suit against State Dept. Seeking Obama Administration Documents As President Trump prepares to formally withdraw from Paris a newly obtained Memorandum of Law, if genuine, represents “major political and legal scandal”, “unlawful entry” to treaty WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the public interest law firm…

On Tuesday, Government Accountability & Oversight, P.C. filed a Reply in Support of its Motion for Summary Judgment, opposing Maryland AG Brian Frosh’s effort to keep hidden from the public his “application” seeking Michael Bloomberg’s resources to pursue the climate litigation agenda. Frosh is the only AG so hiding this document – and the only AG with three Bloomberg-financed special…

Read the legal complaint below:

In Government Accountability & Oversight, P.C. v. Office of the Attorney General, Maryland AG Brian Frosh has asked a court to seal Frosh’s application seeking Michael Bloomberg underwriting for Frosh’s “climate” policy and ideological activism. CLW readers know that Bloomberg created a group to place privately hired attorneys in AG offices “to advance the agenda represent by” Bloomberg’s group. Meaning, Bloomberg’s agenda. Frosh…

NEW MOTION SEEKS DETAILS ON MARYLAND AGS USE OF BLOOMBERG FUNDED ATTORNEYS By Energy in Depth’s PATRICK HALL A new court filing in the lawsuit against Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh seeks to further pull back the curtain on the Michael Bloomberg-backed State Energy and Environmental Impact Center (SEEIC) at the NYU School of Law, and the program’s continued efforts to place privately-funded attorneys…

Jennifer Hijazi, E&E News reporter Published: Monday, August 19, 2019Conservative groups are raising new legal questions about state attorneys general who are involved in climate litigation and hire outside lawyers to work on the issue. In a lawsuit filed in state court last week, Washington state-based Energy Policy Advocates said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) must hand over records detailing his…

By Kevin Mooney The Natural Resources Defense Council held close ties to the Obama administration, providing advice on joining the Paris Agreement while simultaneously maintaining ties to China, according to attorneys and policy analysts who have reviewed email records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. While many of the emails are heavily redacted, they provide insight into how…

By Chris Horner and Victoria Toensing, writing in the Wall Street Journal The State Energy and Environmental Impact Center, a group created by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2017, is hiring and placing lawyers in the offices of state attorneys general. The mission of the group, which is led by a former Interior Department official and housed…

FOIA suit seeks records concerning leaks, coordination of staff with outside parties, possible improper removal of records For immediate release. WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Government Accountability & Oversight, P.C. (GAO), filed suit against the Department of the Interior on behalf of the public policy transparency group Energy Policy Advocates (EPA). This federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit seeks records relating…

Secretary of State Named as Co-Defendant; Complaint Reveals Ex Parte Communications Today, with local counsel Tim Cornell of Cornell Dolan, P.C., the public interest law firm Government Accountability & Oversight, P.C. (GAO) filed suit against Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey under that state’s public records law on behalf of the nonprofit group Energy Policy Advocates (EPA). The suit seeks to…