Government Accountability & Oversight seeks records related to donor-financed climate activists in state departments
Government Accountability & Oversight, with representation from the Wisconsin Transparency Project, has filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Administration alleging that DOA violated the state’s Open Records Law. DOA—and specifically the Office of Sustainability & Clean Energy created by executive order to implement the “climate” policy agenda—is withholding information pertaining to a national campaign by activist donors to pay for “staff” in state offices nationwide.
Through this campaign first exposed by GAO, progressive operatives are buying their way into high-level positions in state governments by paying the salaries of highly-placed administrators in state agencies to do particular work they want done, like pushing aggressive global warming policies. The donor behind this campaign has reported to the Internal Revenue Service that many of these staff were funded for the purpose of “UN Strengthening.”
This particular campaign follows on the heels of donors—including the same “strategic partner of the United Nations” behind this scheme—placing “staff” in governors’ offices, and billionaire climate activist Michael Bloomberg staffingprogressive state attorneys general for “the advancement and defense of progressive clean energy, climate change, and environmental matters.” Most recently, as GAO has also revealed, Bloomberg’s AG organization is now staffing state utility regulatory commissions.
Targeted states working under this program at issue in GAO’s records suit include Connecticut, Colorado, Hawai’i, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and well as Wisconsin. Bloomberg’s group staffing state utility regulators has so far successfully targeted at least the Louisiana and Michigan Public Service Commissions.
Transparency about these efforts is crucial, but the Wisconsin DOA is hiding emails related to this project, claiming them to be attorney-client privileged. But when asked for information supporting that claim, they refused to provide basic information that would allow GAO or a court to verify those claims, such as dates, subject lines, senders, and recipients.
“Basic factual information like this is not privileged,” explained Tom Kamenick, President and Founder of the Wisconsin Transparency Project. “Record custodian must redact privileged information and release the remainder – they cannot simply withhold the entire record. We are asking a judge to review these emails and determine whether they really are privileged.”
GAO pursues and supports litigation seeking to use state and federal transparency laws to show how public institutions come to be used with, and even by or for, outside interests. Attorney Chris Horner, who represents the group in numerous such matters, notes that “GAO was heartened to see Wisconsin voters reject activist-donor financing of certain important functions of governance—specifically, administering elections; yet the practice continues to proliferate throughout Wisconsin’s government, including law enforcement. Hopefully this suit will help expose such activist occupation of government to the disinfectant of sunlight.”
For a copy of the lawsuit, contact Attorney Kamenick