Lots of news lately on how some U.S. attorneys general have, well, been political — hardly a surprise, given their long-lasting nickname: “Aspiring Governors.” The most recent case is that about 17 such officials have been meeting with environmental activists to craft a plan to cut Exxon Mobil Corp. down to size. Last week’s episode of “AGs Know Best” took a dramatic turn when some emails were discovered through the Freedom of Information Act — ones that showed a formal meeting took place among the state AGs with an environmental lawyer and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists to single out the oil giant about what it may have known about climate change dating back to 1980. For Exxon’s part, it says that the information it had 36 years ago was not conclusive. But it quickly adds that today a lot more is known — and that climate change is real and that everyone needs to do their part. As for the AGs, they say that they routinely consult guidance from interested parties and that nothing nefarious happened when they met on March 29th with activists. How did all this come to light? The Energy & Environment Legal Institute, which is a free-market think tank with ties to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, obtained emails through the Freedom of Information Act that prove such meetings took place. The institute then shared those notes with Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, which allegedly asked the activists not to talk about the meeting. “These emails strongly suggest the financial motive for AGs to pursue their political opponents, not content with merely silencing and scaring away support for those who dare disagree with their extreme global warming agenda,” said Craig Richardson, E&E Legal’s Executive Director, in a statement. 

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