Texas Judge uses Trumps rule to order the NY and MA Attorney Generals to Texas on Dec 13 to submit to court ordered depositions by Exxon.
A Texas federal judge’s recent order — that the attorneys general of Massachusetts and New York must submit to questioning by lawyers for ExxonMobil about why they are investigating the company — is highly unusual and unwarranted, as is the underlying lawsuit brought by ExxonMobil against the prosecutors. If upheld, this approach could turn the legal system upside down, allowing wrongdoers possessing sufficient resources to file lawsuits that paralyze law enforcement efforts aimed at protecting the public.
Although the Texas judge stated that he found sufficient grounds for ExxonMobil to investigate whether the two AGs had acted in bad faith, in fact the AGs have been engaged in activities that are commonplace and entirely appropriate for state prosecutors: (1) cooperating with AGs from other states, (2) consulting with experts about possible unlawful activity, (3) seeking documents to investigate that activity, and (4) speaking in public about the matters under review.
Summary
Dallas-based United States District Judge Ed Kinkeade has granted permission to oil and gas giant ExxonMobil to question under oath Massachusetts’ attorney general, Maura Healey, and New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, as to their motivations for investigations of the company. Issuing orders in a lawsuit filed by ExxonMobil, a case aimed at stopping Healey from going forward with her investigation, Judge Kinkeade has directed the two AGs to come to Dallas on December 13 to face depositions from ExxonMobil’s high-powered legal team.
Buoyed by the judge’s ruling, and possessing seemingly-limitless resources to engage in litigation, ExxonMobil also now has issued subpoenas in the case to non-profit environmental groups and private lawyers that provided advice and information to the two attorneys general.
Judge’s Radical Exxon Ruling Could Turn The Legal System Upside Down — Court Filings and more