Texas Attorney General Fights Back Against Attacks on Exxon Mobil

 

bill paxton

While Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s attacking Democratic Attorneys General for targeting energy firms, the Attorney General in Texas has gone to court asking a judge to block U.S. Virgin Islands officials from subpoenaing 40 years of internal climate change documents from Exxon Mobil Corp.

Ken Paxton calls it “a fishing expedition of the worst kind,” according to a report from Reuters. Paxton made the filing with a judge in Tarrant county and called the move by Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude earl Walker two months ago a violation of Exxon’s First Amendment rights.

“What is Exxon Mobil’s transgression?” he asked at a news conference. “This is about the criminalization of speech and the criminalization of thought.”

Democratic Attorneys General charged weeks ago they contended Exxon Mobil had misled investors and the public about the risks of climate change, something the company has denied.

Exxon Mobil is headquartered in Texas and is the world’s largest publicly-traded oil company with thousands of employees. Paxton wants the judge to block the subpoena power of the Virgin Islands Attorney General.

“This is an instance where an elected official is trying to turn free speech into a crime,” charged Paxton. “If we let this stand, it’s only a matter of time before they come for other companies or individuals who voice opinions with which they disagree.”

Exxon does not have operations in the Virgin Islands and the attorney general there would need the cooperation of Texas officials to obtain the documents he seeks.