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=bak 919see RAGA (some lost?)team red team blue=<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/a-hyperconservative-state-attorney-general-wants-unprecedented-control-over-local-prosecutions/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/a-hyperconservative-state-attorney-general-wants-unprecedented-control-over-local-prosecutions/</a>no lnx
A hyperconservative state attorney general wants unprecedented control over local prosecutions
Written by Filter January 31, 2020by Rory Fleming
One might think Indiana has better things to do than police marijuana. According to US News and World Reports rankings, the state has the third-worst environmental quality, the 11th worst healthcare system, and the 14th worst roads and highways in the US. Until 2019, more people had been moving away from the state than moving to it for years.
But that’s not the way Republican Attorney General Curtis Hill sees things. He is supporting a bill introduced by Indiana State Senator Mike Young that would permit the AG to take over cases from county prosecutors when he believes there is a general declination policy for a certain charge—even when it’s a case of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
The legislation is reportedly a reaction to new Marion County (Indianapolis) Prosecutor Ryan Mears’ declaration that he will no longer prosecute marijuana possession cases. Such a sweeping law would be the first in the nation, with prior attempts to rein in prosecutors being limited to specific cases and counties (like Philadelphia’s gun cases).
According to AG Hill’s spokeswoman Parvani Stover, his support is a result of a more general reaction to announced non-prosecution policies by chief local prosecutors around the country, like Rachael Rollins in Boston and Chesa Boudin in San Francisco. National pushback against reform prosecutors has recently been embodied by US Attorney General William Barr’s new presidential criminal justice commission and its woeful composition.
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Association (IPAA) is one of the most conservative in the nation, and that says a lot. It published a shocking letter back in 2017, declaring “ both medicinal and recreational marijuana legalization are wrong for Indiana” and that medical marijuana is, in their profoundly non-medical opinions, “not medicine.”
But even the IPAA is not standing for this attack on its legal mandate to utilize prosecutorial discretion, according to WIBC reporter Eric Berman. In an argument at the Indiana Senate’s Corrections and Criminal Law Committee hearing on January 28, the IPAA described discretion as “essential” to carrying out its duties. In this instance, the IPAA seems to be prioritizing principle over its political persuasions.
In contrast, after Aramis Ayala, the chief prosecutor of Orlando, Florida, announced in 2017 that she would never seek the death penalty, the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (FPAA) showed its willingness to get decidedly wishy-washy regarding uses of prosecutorial discretion that its members happen to dislike. (In fact, the association’s chief lobbyist Buddy Jacobs, who narrowly avoided white collar crime convictions twice, was so desperate to swiftly decry Ayala’s move that he plagiarized a private defense attorney’s blog in writing a friend-of-the-court brief to the Florida Supreme Court on the issue.)
People who keep track of legislative assaults on prosecutorial discretion should not be surprised if Indiana’s bill passes anyway, however. Attorney General Hill remains an influential and hyperconservative presence in Indiana’s state government (despite being credibly accused of sexually assaulting several women at the height of the #MeToo movement). The bill passed the aforementioned Committee by a 6-3 vote, with only one Republican joining the Democrats in dissent.
If the bill does indeed become law, law professors and criminal justice scholars ought to track how the Attorney General uses this newfound power. Giving the AG the ability to snatch cases away from local court systems on the mere suspicion of a non-declination policy, especially given the dearth of charging decision data from virtually every single county prosecutor office nationwide, would be a worrying departure.
indep in 2012?<div class="r" style="margin: 0px; font-size: small; line-height: 1.57; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQFjAQegQICRAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.3;"><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQFjAQegQICRAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQFjAQegQICRAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQFjAQegQICRAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQFjAQegQICRAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">The Pruitt Emails: A Natural Gas Ventriloquism Act | NRDC</a></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 33); font-style: normal; font-size: 16px; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://www.nrdc.org › experts › david-doniger › pruitt-emails-natural-gas...</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=raga+2014+ag+head&oq=raga+2014+ag+head&aqs=chrome..69i57.9159j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b16" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQ7B0wEHoECAkQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQqR8wEHoECAkQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); font-size: 13px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nQ24Mh1YUqEJ:https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act+&cd=17&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:nQ24Mh1YUqEJ:https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act%2B%26cd%3D17%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQIDAQegQICRAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=related:https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act+raga+2014+ag+head&tbo=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQHzAQegQICRAG" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; color: rgb(84, 84, 84); line-height: 1.57; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=related:https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act+raga+2014+ag+head&tbo=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQHzAQegQICRAG" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Mar 21, 2017 - The AG's staff responds that he's willing but needs help to bring him up to speed on the issue. ... The 2014 New York Times article revealed the early phases of .... Pruitt served as Chairman of RAGA from November 2011 to ...</a></div><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=related:https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act+raga+2014+ag+head&tbo=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQHzAQegQICRAG" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"></a><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=related:https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/pruitt-emails-natural-gas-ventriloquism-act+raga+2014+ag+head&tbo=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJ96Px5YvmAhVFY6wKHUN7CggQHzAQegQICRAG" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">new</a><a href="https://prospect.org/power/hour-attorneys-general/">https://prospect.org/power/hour-attorneys-general/</a>...Thanks to the Supreme Court, the states have stronger grounds for contesting federal authority than they did in the past, and during the Obama administration Republican state AGs honed the legal playbook for challenging federal laws, regulations, and executive orders. Democratic AGs may now be able to use that same playbook to contain Trump, especially because the Republican Congress shows little evidence of serving as an independent check on the executive branch. Since Democrats at the federal level have no power to conduct investigations, much less bring indictments, state AGs have been propelled into the forefront as a check and balance against one-party national government.<broadstreet-zone zone-id="Med_Rectangle-Sidebar-Bottom-300x250" keywords="" style="position: static; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></broadstreet-zone>Since the election, Democratic AGs have begun other actions besides opposing Trump's travel ban. The day before his inauguration, six Democratic AGs filed a motion to defend an EPA pollution rule being challenged in court by the fossil fuel industry. Four days later, 16 Democratic AGs filed to intervene in a case regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent agency the Obama administration had been defending in court. Many suspect Trump will fire the CFPB's director and downgrade the agency. "The CFPB has been the cop on the block, and as Republicans try to defund and kill off the agency, there will be a huge gap to be filled," says Caroline Fredrickson, the president of the American Constitution Society. "AGs will be a major part of that response."AGs have also been preparing to defend health-care rights. Massachusetts AG Maura Healey has taken the lead in organizing a multistate working group to protect the Affordable Care Act, and New York AG Eric Schneiderman reintroduced legislation to protect access to free birth control for New Yorkers as afforded by the health-care law.<div id="media-carousel-22531" class="media-aside" style="position: static; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; padding: 0px; float: right; clear: right; width: 296px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="gallery_slide single" id="media-thumb-22531-1" style="position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"><div class="media-content" style="position: static; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">AGs have been beefing up their offices. New York-already one of the largest AG units, with nearly 700 lawyers-is hiring two new senior attorneys to focus on issues related to Trump's presidency. Schneiderman already has an ongoing investigation of the Trump Foundation. In February, Maryland's Democratic-controlled legislature moved to expand the authority of their state AG for the first time since 1864, citing the unique danger posed by Trump. Maryland lawmakers are also considering appropriating $1 million more per year to the state AG office and hiring five additional attorneys to take on the federal government.AGs are under no illusion: It's all hands on deck.STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL trace their roots to 17th-century England, where the office of AG became independent of the king. According to James Tierney, a Harvard Law professor who runs a national website tracking state attorneys general, the idea of an independent attorney general migrated to the American colonies and became a fixture of American state governments after the Revolution. In contrast to the U.S. attorney general, who is appointed by the president and can be removed at any time, most state AGs are elected, strengthening their position as true independent checks against executive power.In 1907, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) formed to chart a shared antitrust strategy regarding the Standard Oil Company. The group, which also tackled issues such as habeas corpus, federal-state relations, and criminal law enforcement, was staffed through state AG offices until 1936, when it was taken under the umbrella of the Council of State Governments. In 1980, NAAG split off once again as an independent association. Over the decades, its agenda has expanded to include pressing issues of each new era: internal security in the 1950s, civil rights in the 1960s, cyberspace law in the 2000s, and consumer financial protection in the 2010s.<blockquote style="position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.8rem 2.4rem 1.8rem 4.2rem; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It was in the mid-1990s, though, that state AGs really began to innovate new ways to use the powers of their office.</blockquote>More than 40 states came together to sue the five largest U.S. tobacco companies, charging them with consumer fraud and seeking payment for the Medicaid costs incurred for tobacco-caused illness. The bipartisan effort led to a groundbreaking settlement in 1998 and provided the template for multistate litigation ever since."We knew AGs were increasing [their] power back in 1995, when they started to take on the powerful tobacco industry," says Karen White, the executive director of the Conference of Western Attorneys General, another AG association, which White has worked for since 1991. "This was the first time that AGs had front-page news headlines every day. Their powers were elevated, and people started to understand what they do, and could do. It wasn't the first multistate case, but it was the most impactful in terms of catching people's attention and catapulting AGs into a force to be reckoned with."Paul Nolette, a Marquette University political scientist who studies AGs, finds that while there were a few multistate cases in the 1980s, their numbers increased during the 1990s and 2000s and reached new heights during the Obama years. Some were bipartisan-particularly around consumer protection issues-but the later years of the last century and early years of the new one saw the birth of party-affiliated AG associations and more multistate, partisan litigation.Republicans led the way, bolstered by the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), a group dedicated to electing Republican AGs and litigating cases based on conservative legal philosophy. RAGA launched in 1999, moving under the auspices of the Republican State Leadership Committee in 2002. But the group's formidable legal efforts did not take off until the Obama years.And take off they did. Launching a concerted effort to beef up its political power, RAGA began fundraising and spending money on AG campaigns at unprecedented levels. In 2014, the group split off to become its own organization, creating its own super PAC to boot. RAGA raised $16 million that year, nearly four times what it raised in 2010. Pharmaceutical companies, the fossil fuel industry, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Koch brothers were among the group's largest benefactors. Promises to fight for deregulation in the courts proved to be effective fundraising appeals. In joint actions, Republican AGs challenged President Obama's policies on immigration, health care, the environment, and the workplace-raking in even more money with each successful court action.Increased campaign spending paid off. By 2015, Republicans commanded a majority of AG seats, and in the 2016 election, Republican attorneys general increased their numbers from 27 to 29, the most at any time in U.S. history.Democratic AGs, after dragging their feet, began rethinking their own strategies in 2014. They had a part-time committee-the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA)-which had been based in Denver, Colorado, since its founding in 2002. DAGA was disconnected from the rest of the party, though. And while it had always done some fundraising, budgets for AG races had been fairly small."RAGA could really marshal its Republican AGs, whereas DAGA just wasn't as good," says Travis LeBlanc, who served as special assistant attorney general of California and a senior adviser to California AG Kamala Harris. "RAGA really ran like a really well-oiled machine."At the end of 2015, DAGA decided to relocate to Washington, D.C., and turn itself into a full-time operation. In May 2016, the group hired its first full-time executive director, Sean Rankin, a veteran Democratic political operative. Charged with aiding and electing Democratic AGs across the country, Rankin tells me he thinks he has the coolest job in politics.Today, DAGA has offices in both Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Rankin spent most of 2016 forging new relationships with groups like the National Education Association, Planned Parenthood, and the Democratic Governors Association, and since Election Day he has been working with tech groups, labor unions, Latino Victory, and the Congressional Black Caucus. "We needed to leverage new strategic partnerships," says Rankin. "This component seems obvious, but for DAGA it didn't exist before in the same way."<div id="media-carousel-22532" class="media-aside" style="position: static; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; padding: 0px; float: right; clear: right; width: 296px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="gallery_slide single" id="media-thumb-22532-1" style="position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"><div class="media-content" style="position: static; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Despite the decline in the number of Democratic AGs, DAGA is quick to note its successes in the 2016 election: Democrats won two out of three of their most contested AG races, even outperforming Hillary Clinton in states such as Pennsylvania and North Carolina. DAGA's fundraising prowess still pales in comparison to RAGA's; in the 2016 cycle, DAGA raised $10 million, compared with the more than $23 million RAGA raked in. But in February, DAGA hired its first full-time fundraiser, and has been working to raise money from progressive interest groups motivated to fight back against Donald Trump."Gun control, reproductive choice, environmental issues-at the end of the day, these are all being played out more in the courts than they are in Congress, and so our Democratic interest groups are coming to realize they need to support Democratic AGs more going forward," says Steve Jewett, a political consultant who oversees campaign work for DAGA."RAGA certainly has the lead, but that lead is not going to last forever," Rankin adds. "We are going to catch up."DAGA's investments over the course of 2016, while made on the assumption that Clinton would win, have nevertheless enabled AGs to coordinate faster responses to the new president. But how effectively the Democratic AGs will contest Republican policies and Trump's agenda remains to be seen."Republicans are different, they've always been more sophisticated and disciplined in the orchestrated exercise of power," says a political consultant involved with AGs who agreed to speak on background. "With RAGA, they're pretty harsh with one another. If you don't participate, if you don't play along, you won't get support. I don't think DAGA has been as disciplined about that."DEMOCRATIC AGS WILL SURELY look to the example set by their GOP colleagues as they prepare to oppose Trump's policies. During the Obama years, Republican AGs took their cases to Texas courts, which are chock-full of conservative judges who are amenable to their arguments. The GOP did not originate "forum shopping"-Democratic AGs won injunctions against George W. Bush's policies from district court judges in California's more liberal Ninth Circuit-but the Republicans did increase the practice. Greg Abbott, Republican governor of Texas, says that on a typical day when he was Texas's AG, he went into the office, sued the federal government, and went home. Abbott sued the Obama administration 31 times, and his successor, Ken Paxton, brought 17 additional legal challenges....new<div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/10/both-republicans-and-democrats-have-weaponized-their-ags/574093/">https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/10/both-republicans-and-democrats-have-weaponized-their-ags/574093/</a></div><div>
</div><div><div class="blah" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.2em; display: grid; grid-template-areas: " a="a" b="b" grid-template-columns="grid-template-columns" fr="fr" px="px"><div class="l-articlecontainercontainer" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; width: 736px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; align-self: start; grid-area: 1 / 1 / auto / span 1;"><section class="l-articlesection s-cms-content" itemprop="articleBody" id="article-section-0" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 64px; line-height: 1.4;">democrat phil weiser decided to run for Colorado attorney general the night Donald Trump was elected president, he explains earnestly in a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PsdTnqEucM" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'0',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">campaign ad</a>. “Ever since, I’ve been writing down all the ways I could protect Colorado from Donald Trump,” voice-over Phil Weiser says, as physical Phil Weiser bolts up in bed, struggles to shave one-handed, and pauses while pulling out of his garage, all while scribbling out those plans on whatever surface he can find.<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">His ideas pop up on the screen to the sound of a scratching Magic Marker. “Defend daca + the dreamers.” “Protect Obamacare.” “Ban bump stocks.”In an unusually high-octane year for state-attorney-general elections, Democrats see Weiser as one of their best shots at picking up a seat, and see his message as one of the best they’ve got: A vote for us, they say, is a vote against Trump.Of all the many fighters of the Trump resistance, Democratic attorneys general may have the most teeth. As their state’s top lawyer, they wield unique standing to sue over major Trump policies. And sue they have: In the first two years of the Trump administration, Democratic attorneys general have won some of the left’s most significant victories against the administration, on issues from immigration to education to the environment.</div></section></div><aside class="l-rail l-rail--right l-rail--1" role="complementary" style="box-sizing: inherit; flex-basis: 300px; flex-shrink: 0; min-width: 300px; grid-area: 1 / 2 / span 1 / auto;"><div class="u-dynamic-content js-dynamic-content is-rendered lazyloaded" data-include="/api/2.0/articles/574093/related-articles/?page_size=4 module:theatlantic/js/lacroix/components/recirc-content" data-insert="false" data-section="side" data-source="curated" data-title="More Stories" data-currentinclude="" style="box-sizing: inherit; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.5s ease 0s;"><section class="c-recirc-content" style="box-sizing: inherit; left: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; position: static; right: auto; width: auto;"><div class="c-recirc-contentitems" style="box-sizing: inherit; overflow: auto hidden; white-space: nowrap; width: auto;"><ul class="c-recirc-contentlist" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; flex-direction: column;"><li class="c-recirc-item c-recirc-item--" id="recirc-item-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(211, 220, 230); display: flex; padding: 16px 0px; position: relative; white-space: normal; width: auto; flex-direction: row-reverse; justify-content: space-between;"><div class="c-recirc-itemcontent" style="box-sizing: inherit; flex-grow: 1;" /></li></ul></div></section></div></aside></div><div class="blah" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.2em; display: grid; grid-template-areas: " a="a" b="b" grid-template-columns="grid-template-columns" fr="fr" px="px" margin-top="margin-top" em="em"><div class="l-articlecontainercontainer" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; width: 736px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; align-self: start; grid-area: 1 / 1 / auto / span 1;"><section class="l-articlesection s-cms-content" itemprop="articleBody" id="article-section-1" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 64px; line-height: 1.4;">Now they’re hoping those wins can help them take back Republican-held seats in this fall’s battleground-state midterm elections.Republicans currently hold the majority of state-attorney-general seats, 27 to 22, with one independent. But this fall’s <a href="http://www.naag.org/naag/media/2018-attorney-general-election.php" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'2',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">ma</a>p—there are more than 30 races on the ballot—has put the GOP on defense, with 18 seats to protect and battlegrounds that seem to favor the blue team.In New York, where the attorney-general post is all but certain to remain in Democrats’ hands, primary candidates practically tripped over one another promising to take Trump to court.Zephyr Teachout, who ultimately lost out to her fellow Democrat Letitia James, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/trump-teachout-attorney-general-new-york/566819/&source=gmail&ust=1540669143483000&usg=AFQjCNFNr-Vdkx8nYuGmPZhVnuf_7WIMYA" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/trump-teachout-attorney-general-new-york/566819/" target="blank" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'3',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">launched her campaign</a> in June in front of Trump Tower with a pledge to investigate Trump’s private-business interests in New York. “The beating heart of Trump’s corruption is here in our state,” she <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wsj.com/articles/teachout-has-trump-on-her-mind-as-she-makes-run-for-attorney-general-1528232347&source=gmail&ust=1540669143483000&usg=AFQjCNH0Fz2sV0W-3OAbhvuRqMtKMYigiQ" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/teachout-has-trump-on-her-mind-as-she-makes-run-for-attorney-general-1528232347" target="blank" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'4',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">said</a>.In her victory speech last month, James told a crowd that her race “was never really about me or any of the candidates who ran.” Instead, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/nyregion/letitia-james-attorney-general.html&source=gmail&ust=1540669143483000&usg=AFQjCNF0WS9v7gX44RoF9WrL_CwGtDA-1g" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/nyregion/letitia-james-attorney-general.html" target="blank" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'5',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">she said</a>, “mostly it was about that man in the White House who can’t go a day without threatening our fundamental rights.”<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">Attorneys general haven’t traditionally been overtly political—they defend state agencies in court, ensure child support is paid on time, and go after companies that defraud consumers. But over the past decade, with an ever-growing stack of lawsuits against the federal government, Republican and Democratic attorneys general alike have nudged those law-and-order postings into the partisan fray, a process that culminated last March in a Republican-initiated rules change allowing national parties to target the opposition’s incumbents.That’s set this year to be the costliest attorney-general election cycle to date, with an expected $100 million spent on the races. And it’s why Weiser is banking on national political tailwinds to rev up—and fund—his flyover-state race.“I just have some work to do,” Weiser concludes his video, scribbling.Trump had been in office less than a month when Democratic attorneys general landed their first major hit.In the first weeks of the new administration, five attorneys general took Trump to court over his original travel ban, which limited immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. In February 2017, a federal judge sided with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, blocking the policy nationwide.<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/06/trump-travel-ban-supreme-court/564044/" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'6',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">Read: The travel ban, the law, and what’s “right”</a>They only gained momentum from there. Democratic attorneys general sued to keep Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. They sued to stop him from banning transgender individuals from military service. They sued to block his Education Department from delaying student protections from for-profit colleges.</div></div></section></div><aside class="l-rail l-rail--right l-rail--2" role="complementary" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-basis: 300px; flex-shrink: 0; min-width: 300px; grid-area: 1 / 2 / span 1 / auto; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center;"><div data-section="side" data-pos="native-rr" data-template="hippo/components/ads/rail.html" data-native="standard,gift" class=" ad-native-rr-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit;" /></aside></div><div data-section="full" data-pos="boxinjector-d" data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-desktop.html" data-native="standard,gift" class=" ad-boxinjector-d-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="blah" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.2em; display: grid; grid-template-areas: " a="a" b="b" grid-template-columns="grid-template-columns" fr="fr" px="px" margin-top="margin-top" em="em"><div class="l-articlecontainercontainer" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; width: 736px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; align-self: start; grid-area: 1 / 1 / auto / span 1;"><section class="l-articlesection s-cms-content" itemprop="articleBody" id="article-section-2" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 64px; line-height: 1.4;">New York’s attorney general took <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/nyregion/eric-schneiderman-attorney-general-new-york.html" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'7',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">100 legal or administrative actions</a> against the administration in under a year. California’s office got a $6.5 million <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-gov-jerry-brown-boosts-budget-of-atty-1494526857-htmlstory.html" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'8',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">budget influx</a> to keep its anti-Trump efforts going. Even in smaller states, like Hawaii and Connecticut, Democrats weaponized their offices against a president they said was ignoring the rule of law, and they notched major victories.But Democratic attorneys general showed up to the playoffs with the shallowest bench they’d had in decades. The party used to have a stranglehold on the seats: In 1980, Democrats owned 33 seats to Republicans’ 17, and over the following three decades that majority seldom dipped below 30. Their blue tide began to recede in 2011, following the first midterm election under President Barack Obama; in 2012, the split stabilized at 25–25; and finally, after the 2014 midterms, the advantage flipped for the Republicans.<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">This year, Democrats are hoping to retake that majority by touting their tussles with Trump. Their case to voters is simple: Our party has had more success in the courthouse than the statehouse. Help us keep up that fight.“It’s the one office that has shown the power to put a halt on the egregious actions of this administration,” said Sean Rankin, the executive director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA). “Congress has continued to fall short in its responsibility of acting as a check on the executive, and it’s been the Democratic attorneys general who have most effectively shown that they can actually handle the load and hold this administration accountable when it fails to understand what it means to follow the law.”Democrats didn’t invent this strategy—they borrowed it from their colleagues across the aisle.In 2007, a U.S. Supreme Court case called Massachusetts vs. Environmental Protection Agency found that states have “special solicitude” to sue the federal government. As the Obama administration found its footing, and especially as it turned to making policy through executive actions in the face of a gridlocked Congress, Republican state attorneys general seized that solicitude as a political weapon, launching a series of multistate legal challenges to Obama’s policies. Since then, said Paul Nolette, a political-science professor at Marquette University who tracks this type of litigation, the number of such lawsuits has gone “off the charts.”<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">In Obama’s first term, Republican attorneys general brought 14 multistate lawsuits against the federal government, according to Nolette. In Obama’s second term, that number more than doubled. Republican states challenged dozens of environmental regulations and immigration actions. Their lawsuits effectively killed the Clean Power Plan, a landmark Obama-era environmental rule, and the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program, an expanded version of daca that would have granted deportation stays to millions.</div></div></section></div><aside class="l-rail l-rail--right l-rail--3" role="complementary" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-basis: 300px; flex-shrink: 0; min-width: 300px; grid-area: 1 / 2 / span 1 / auto; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center;" /></div><div data-section="full" data-pos="boxinjector-d" data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-desktop.html" data-native="standard,gift" class=" ad-boxinjector-d-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="blah" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.2em; display: grid; grid-template-areas: " a="a" b="b" grid-template-columns="grid-template-columns" fr="fr" px="px" margin-top="margin-top" em="em"><div class="l-articlecontainercontainer" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; width: 736px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; align-self: start; grid-area: 1 / 1 / auto / span 1;"><section class="l-articlesection s-cms-content" itemprop="articleBody" id="article-section-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 64px; line-height: 1.4;">That success made for good campaign slogans, though the day-to-day duties of the office hadn’t changed much.Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas used to say his job as the state’s attorney general was simple: “I go into the office, I sue the federal government, and I go home.” The wife of his successor, Ken Paxton, has taken it one step further, adding a guitar. “I’m a pistol-packin’ mama, and my husband sues Obama,” she would <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58fL8UAr3xU" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'9',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">croon</a> at campaign events.<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">Now Democrats have adopted both the messaging and the means. In borrowing Republicans’ strategy, though, Democrats have outpaced them. In less than two years of the Trump administration, Democrats have already lobbed nearly 60 multistate lawsuits—more than Republicans brought in the eight years of Obama’s presidency.That stack will only grow if Democrats can boost their numbers this fall—one reason both sides have invested so heavily in the dozens of races. The Republican Attorneys General Association will spend about $40 million this cycle to DAGA’s $16 million.Polls show close races in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada. Those contests have become both pricey and ugly.In the battleground state of Nevada, Republicans have targeted the Democrat Aaron Ford for four <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/nevada-ag-candidate-aaron-ford-arrested-4-times-in-1990s/" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'10',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">arrests</a> in his 20s, including for theft and for failing to appear in court. In Florida, the Republican Ashley Moody has <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/10/09/family-tradition-drives-ashley-moody-in-attorney-generals-race/" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'11',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">aligned herself</a> with the president while the Democrat Sean Shaw has pledged to <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/10/08/sean-shaw-follows-his-fathers-path-in-attorney-general-race/" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'12',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">investigate</a> him.<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">And in Minnesota—one of the GOP’s only likely pickups—a safe seat for Democrats is at risk after their nominee, U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, was accused of assaulting an ex-girlfriend, allegations he denies. A recent <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-poll-doug-wardlow-leads-keith-ellison-in-attorney-general-s-race/498264151/&source=gmail&ust=1540665724599000&usg=AFQjCNG4r1wabiqo7_q0zZ1PfK5YjmUDdA" href="http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-poll-doug-wardlow-leads-keith-ellison-in-attorney-general-s-race/498264151/" target="blank" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'13',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">poll</a> has the Republican candidate, Doug Wardlow, leading by seven points in a seat Democrats have held for decades. Perhaps the most telling sign of partisanship in that race: Wardlow has <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.startribune.com/wardlow-says-he-d-fire-democrats-in-minnesota-ag-s-office/497225361/&source=gmail&ust=1540665724599000&usg=AFQjCNGoESEQd0RUqRp-qFk_lY2QLB2FgA" href="http://www.startribune.com/wardlow-says-he-d-fire-democrats-in-minnesota-ag-s-office/497225361/" target="blank" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'14',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">privately promised</a> that he would “right off the bat” fire 42 Democrats working in the state attorney general’s office.In many of the states on the ballot this fall, attorney-general candidates are <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/18/obamacare-lawsuit-2018-elections-774975" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'15',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">bickering</a> over a state-led lawsuit to kill the Affordable Care Act. Texas and Wisconsin launched that 20-state challenge in February; California leads a similar-size group of states in defending the landmark health law. Now, in states that are on Team Texas, Democrats are running on promises to bow out of the legal challenge, or to switch sides entirely. In many states, the dispute has become not whether to fight the federal government at all, but which side to take.<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/obamacare-trump/555131/" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'16',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">Read: The health-care gap between red and blue America</a>The “fighting the feds” rhetoric has politicized an office once considered about as interesting as state dogcatcher, and it’s cost taxpayers millions of dollars. But it’s also added a new high-stakes dimension to what had been sleepy, down-ballot races.</div></div></div></section></div><aside class="l-rail l-rail--right l-rail--4" role="complementary" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-basis: 300px; flex-shrink: 0; min-width: 300px; grid-area: 1 / 2 / span 1 / auto; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center;" /></div><div data-section="full" data-pos="boxinjector-d" data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-desktop.html" data-native="standard,gift" class=" ad-boxinjector-d-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="blah" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.2em; display: grid; grid-template-areas: " a="a" b="b" grid-template-columns="grid-template-columns" fr="fr" px="px" margin-top="margin-top" em="em"><div class="l-articlecontainercontainer" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; width: 736px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; align-self: start; grid-area: 1 / 1 / auto / span 1;"><section class="l-articlesection s-cms-content" itemprop="articleBody" id="article-section-4" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 64px; line-height: 1.4;">George Brauchler, the Republican running against Weiser in Colorado, called this politicization of the office inappropriate.“Attorneys general have become these ideological Don Quixotes, finding all these different political issues to tilt at like windmills,” Brauchler lamented. “Both sides look at this like, ‘Wow, we can almost stop this administration in its tracks.’ That’s an incredible amount of power.”In march 2017, high off an unexpected presidential victory and surging with 28 strong, their highest tally in decades, Republican attorneys general convened on a private conference call. There were deliberations. Then they <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-republican-ags-exclusive-idUSKBN16Z1A5" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'17',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">voted</a>, 15–8, to take the gloves off.For decades, the incumbency rule had kept the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and the Democratic Attorneys General Association from financially backing challengers to each other’s incumbents—it had kept elections cheaper, boosted cooperation across state and partisan lines, and reflected the races’ comparatively lower political temperatures. Who cares, the thinking went, if the lawyer defending state agencies is a Republican or a Democrat? But that no longer applied in an increasingly polarized political environment.<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">For Republicans, the justification was simple.“The stakes are too high for us to leave winnable races on the table,” Scott Will, RAGA’s executive director, said at the time.However pragmatic its goals, some strategists believe abandoning the rule may have backfired for Republicans this cycle. RAGA is slightly older, and far better funded than its Democratic counterpart. But this year, it has more seats to defend—and it has to spend seriously to keep its incumbents in office.The rules change has Democratic strategists eyeing—albeit with rose-tinged optimism—even Republican strongholds like Georgia and Texas. But they see their likeliest bets at unseating Republican incumbents in Arizona and Wisconsin, where they’ve run young, charismatic candidates against first-term Republican incumbents.The rules change gives challengers a financial boost from their national parties. In Arizona, DAGA has supported the challenger, January Contreras, with a $1.75 million allocation, money it couldn’t have spent with the incumbency rule in place. In turn, RAGA has allocated $2.5 million in TV advertising to keep the incumbent, Mark Brnovich, in office.<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">Abandoning the incumbency rule has “absolutely” shifted the tables in Democrats’ favor this year, Rankin said.“The simple answer is yes. Because prior to the rule [change] I would not have been allowed to invest funds into those states to support those candidates,” he said. “We’ve got a set of wins that I think are gonna come—enough opportunities on a big map that’s continued to get bigger. I’m pretty excited about Election Night.”Republicans, meanwhile, are downplaying the impact of the rules change—these tight races, they say, would have been tight races regardless. Wisconsin is typically a toss-up state, and the incumbent, Brad Schimel—whom a Madison newspaper <a href="https://madison.com/ct/opinion/editorial/editorial-brad-schimel-is-worst-attorney-general-in-wisconsin-history/article_ecf3d922-9af1-5237-8571-5a45c618599b.html" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'18',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">labeled</a> the “worst attorney general in Wisconsin history”—would have always had a difficult road to reelection. And politicos have <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/16/deciders-arizona-election-democrats-219008" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'19',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">long speculated</a> that Arizona’s shifting demographics would soon turn the state blue, or at least more purple.</div></div></section></div><aside class="l-rail l-rail--right l-rail--5" role="complementary" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-basis: 300px; flex-shrink: 0; min-width: 300px; grid-area: 1 / 2 / span 1 / auto; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center;" /></div><div data-section="full" data-pos="boxinjector-d" data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-desktop.html" data-native="standard,gift" class=" ad-boxinjector-d-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="blah" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; display: grid; grid-template-areas: " a="a" b="b" grid-template-columns="grid-template-columns" fr="fr" px="px" margin-top="margin-top" em="em"><div class="l-articlecontainercontainer" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; width: 736px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; align-self: start; grid-area: 1 / 1 / auto / span 1;"><section class="l-articlesection s-cms-content" itemprop="articleBody" id="article-section-5" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 64px; line-height: 1.4;">Will said the incumbency rule change “will have no practical impact in 2018 due to the map.”<div data-template="hippo/components/ads/article-mobile.html" data-native="standard,gift" data-pos="boxinjector-m" class=" ad-boxinjector-m-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">“The fact is, Democrats were always going to come after our incumbents,” Will said. “The battlefield is expansive because of RAGA’s recent domination of AG races. We have experienced candidates ready to serve on day one—ready to keep people safe in their communities.”In tight races and in states viewed as long shots, Democrats are hitting Republican incumbents as hard as they can.In Texas, where the gap looks difficult to close, the challenger, Justin Nelson, has all but attached the word indicted to the name of Ken Paxton, the Republican incumbent, who was <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2018/07/25/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-justin-nelson/" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'20',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">charged</a> in 2015 with felony securities fraud. Paxton will <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-politics/2018/06/29/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-wont-go-trial-alleged-crimes-before-election-day-experts-say" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'21',r'None'" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">face voters</a> before he faces a jury.In Wisconsin, a closer race, the Democrat Josh Kaul has bludgeoned his opponent repeatedly over the Obamacare lawsuit, and he’s enjoyed a boost from the $2 million DAGA allocated to support him.Arizona’s Contreras hasn’t been as explicit about running against Trump as Weiser, hundreds of miles northeast in Colorado. But in a state led by Republicans from the governor’s mansion straight on down through mine inspector, she’s touting endorsements from Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden. She’s also promised to flip Arizona’s position on the Obamacare lawsuit, fighting to preserve the law instead of to dismantle it.Contreras said she wanted to run because in Arizona, state officials are running amok and “the courts are the adults in the room.”“And I could see that happening at the national level as well,” she said. “That was a moment for me to say: The AG really matters.”<section class="c-letters-cta" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;">We want to hear what you think about this article. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/contact/letters/" class="c-letters-ctalink" style="transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit;">Submit a letter</a> to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.</section><div class="js-dynamic-content lazyloaded" data-include="/api/2.0/articles/574093/related-videos/ module:theatlantic/js/components/related-video" data-insert="false" data-currentinclude="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="c-sentinel" id="article-end" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; height: 1px;"><address id="article-writer-0" class="c-article-writer lazyloaded" data-author-id="21859" data-include="css:https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/a/frontend/dist/theatlantic/css/lacroix/components/article-writer.eafcf87eff89.css" itemprop="author" itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemscope="" data-currentinclude="" style="font-style: normal; box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.5s ease 0s; display: flex; position: relative;" /><div class="c-article-writercontent" style="box-sizing: inherit; flex-basis: 100%; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; padding-top: 4px;"><div class="c-article-writer__bio" itemprop="description" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.25;"><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/author/emma-platoff/" class="author-link" data-omni-click="inherit" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.15s ease 0s; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: uppercase;">EMMA PLATOFF</a> </div></div></div></div></div></section></div></div></div><div></div><div>=</div><div>new</div><div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24102019/south-dakota-anti-protest-law-riot-boosting-oil-pipeline-penalties-transcanada">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24102019/south-dakota-anti-protest-law-riot-boosting-oil-pipeline-penalties-transcanada</a></div><div>
</div><div>7 states have</div><div>
</div><div>South Dakota officials have agreed to walk back parts of the state's new anti-protest laws that opponents say were meant to target Native American and environmental advocates who speak out against the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline.Gov. Kristi Noem and state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg agreed in a settlement Thursday with Native American and environmental advocates that the state would never enforce portions of the recently passed laws that criminalize "riot boosting"—which it applied, not just to protesters, but to supporters who encourage but never take part in acts of "force or violence" themselves.The settlement, which makes permanent a <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6422109/SDpipeline.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">temporary ruling</a> issued by a federal judge in September, has immediate implications for opponents of the Keystone pipeline in South Dakota and could challenge the validity of similar laws targeting pipeline and environmental protestors in other states....</div><div></div>AG as stepping stone to higher office, eg tom corbett; easy bones going after drugs, ecoterrorists; see also tim griffin (rove)includes local DA as well as state Sec of State (in some states AG enforces election laws); oddly 2 raga AG are ex-congressmen?
 See RAGA gopalso team red and blue, CPP, RICO GW
<ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(241, 242, 243);"><li class="hidden-xs" style="text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px 0px 23px; line-height: 1.33;"><a data-ga-action="Home Headlines: Headline" href="https://www.democracynow.org/2019/9/10/headlines/attorneys_general_from_48_us_territories_launch_antitrust_probe_into_google" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; border: 0px;">Attorneys General from 48 U.S. Territories Launch Antitrust Probe into Google</a></li></ul><div>=</div><div><h2 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.1em 0px 0.25em; line-height: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://boingboing.net/2019/09/06/dina-srinivasan-triumphant.html" rel="bookmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">10 bipartisan Attorneys General launch antitrust investigation against Facebook</a></h2><div class="entry-content" libre="Libre" baskerville="Baskerville" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Attorneys General from Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, have initiated an antitrust investigation into Facebook, seeking to determine whether the company "endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising." <a href="https://boingboing.net/2019/09/06/dina-srinivasan-triumphant.html" class="read-more" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Read the rest</a></div></div><div>=</div>SUPPRESSION?<a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/12/10/ny-attorney-general-underwood-exxon-ethics/">https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/12/10/ny-attorney-general-underwood-exxon-ethics/</a>Karen SavageA nonprofit with ties to the fossil fuel industry has filed <a href="https://www.govjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/JCOPE-181207.pdf?utm_source=Government+Justice+Center&utm_campaign=1cbfc8de9e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_10_21_10_49_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_89e1c296a5-1cbfc8de9e-290615533" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">an ethics complaint</a> against the New York attorney general’s office, alleging that Attorney General Barbara Underwood and two special assistant attorneys general are violating state ethics laws in their climate-related litigation against Exxon.The Government Justice Center, led by board members who work for organizations that have received funding from oil industry and climate denial groups, alleges that Underwood is “accepting funding from an entity to conduct litigation by New York State on that entity’s behalf.”The complaint alleges that Matthew Eisenson and Gavin McCabe, two special assistant attorneys general working on the office’s securities fraud case against Exxon as well as other work, are violating state law because they are paid through the NYU School of Law’s<a href="http://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/state-impact" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"> State Energy & Environment Impact Center</a>.Known as the State Impact Center, it was<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"> established last year</a> with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, a nonprofit founded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to support state attorneys general in “defending and promoting clean energy, climate and environmental laws and policies.”Eisenson and McCabe were both hired by the New York attorney general’s office through the State Impact Center’s fellows program. According to the Center’s website the Center “has offered all state attorneys general the opportunity to hire NYU Law Fellows to work under their direction as special assistant attorney generals on clean energy, climate change, and environmental issues.”The Government Justice Center contends that Underwood’s office hired Eisenson and McCabe specifically to “help pursue a private party’s political and litigation agenda.” The Center says the use of the NYU fellows program also violates the law by giving the impression that Underwood’s office can be improperly influenced by Bloomberg.The attorney general’s office said the arrangement <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/In-latest-effort-to-hamstring-AG-s-Exxon-suit-13449932.php" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">violates no ethics laws</a> and has been cleared by the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics.The Government Justice Center said the alleged violations stem from Eisenson’s and McCabe’s names being included in signature blocks of recent climate change-related litigation, including Underwood’s <a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/10/24/new-york-attorney-general-exxon-climate-fraud/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">suit against Exxon</a> for securities fraud, and a friend-of-the-court brief supporting New York City’s climate liability <a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/01/10/new-york-city-climate-lawsuit-liability-bill-de-blasio/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">suit</a> against five major oil companies.“The presence of the special assistants in those cases, funded by Mr. Bloomberg, raises questions regarding whether Mr. Bloomberg and the Center are unduly influencing decision-making and litigation,” wrote Cameron J. Macdonald, executive director and general counsel for the Government Justice Center, who wrote the complaint.Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University who studies state attorneys general and their role in national policy making, said it is common for attorneys general to tap into the expertise of various interest groups.“Overall I don’t see it [the complaint] as a particularly strong argument, in part because this type of arrangement has been very common amongst AGs for quite some time and that includes situations where AGs have worked with private class action attorneys on a contingency fee basis, which has also raised ethics concerns, but generally speaking, courts across the country have allowed that arrangement to occur,” Nolette said.“Clearly the [State Impact] Center has an agenda of ‘we want to fight climate change’ but that alone is not particularly unusual or what I would consider unethical,” he said.“We don’t hide anything that we do,” said Christopher Gray, communications director for the State Impact Center. “We are not securities lawyers, we work on environmental policy. The idea that we’re directly involved in a meaningful way, doesn’t meet the facts.”“This is another attempt by what appears to be a dark money group to de-legitimize the ExxonMobil investigation, which pre-existed the founding of the State Impact Center and which we don’t have any oversight or influence over,” Gray said.According to its charity registration statement, the Government Justice Center was founded in 2016 to provide “public interest litigation focused on government waste, negligence, misappropriation and other improper actions.”The organization’s board members include director <a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/james-r-copland" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">James Copeland</a>, a senior fellow and director of legal policy at the Manhattan Institute. Exxon <a href="https://cdn.exxonmobil.com/_{/media/global/files/worldwide-giving/2017-public-policy-worldwide-giving.pdf}" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">gave $115,200</a> to the Manhattan Institute in 2017 for public information and policy research. The group <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=103&v=AkoP6bNj-Yg" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">posted</a> a Youtube video in March that was made to look like a real news story titled “The ‘Overheated’ Costs of Climate Change.” It featured former TV newscaster John Stossel, who interviewed senior fellow Oren Cass, who <a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/overheated-how-flawed-analyses-overestimate-costs-climate-change-10986.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">maintains</a> that the costs of the climate crisis are overestimated.Treasurer for the Government Justice Center is Brandon Muir, who is <a href="https://www.reclaimnewyork.org/about/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">also</a> the executive director of Reclaim New York, an organization <a href="https://www.reclaimnewyork.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Reclaim-New-York-2016-Form-990.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">chaired</a> by Rebekah Mercer.Since at least 2015, the Mercer Family Foundation<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/01/12/trump-kingmaker-billionaires-robert-rebekah-mercer-pouring-millions-climate-science-denial" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;"> has funded</a>numerous organizations known for<a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/201982204/201723199349104262/IRS990PF" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;"> promoting</a> climate denial, including the Manhattan Institute and the Heartland Institute.Tim Hoefer is president of the Government Justice Center and director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, which was a<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130725041149/http:/www.empirecenter.org/AboutUs/EmpireCenter/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;"> project</a> of the Manhattan Institute.Government Justice Center director and retired judge Robert S. Smith, spent more than 25 years as<a href="https://www.fklaw.com/attorneys-Robert-Smith.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;"> partner</a> at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, the firm hired by Exxon to defend itself against a growing number of climate change-related lawsuits, including Underwood’s securities fraud case.The ethics complaint echoes a <a href="https://cei.org/AGclimatescheme" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">report</a> published earlier this year by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which relied on public records requests to allege that attorneys general are involved in a coordinated scheme by private interests to persuade elected officials to hold oil giants responsible for climate change. That alleged conspiracy includes Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, who is also investigating Exxon for possible fraud.“This seems to me to be just one additional part of this massive brawl between the New York attorney general’s office, the Massachusetts attorney general and ExxonMobil. I’m not terribly surprised that they filed this ethics complaint, but it doesn’t strike me as something that’s really going to go anywhere,” Nolette said.<a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/11/19/democratic-ag-midterm-climate-change/">https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/11/19/democratic-ag-midterm-climate-change/</a>Nearly lost in the sometimes breathless coverage of the massive Democratic gains in the House of Representatives and state legislatures was a political sea change in the recent midterm election: for the first time in years, Democrats gained control over the levers of environmental law in four critical states.In four formerly reliably Republican states—Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin and Nevada—GOP attorneys general were ousted by Democratic challengers. It is a development, observers say, that represents a stunning defeat for the oil and gas industry, which poured millions of dollars into those campaigns. And it could alter the landscape for several high-profile cases that seek to hold the industry accountable for the ravages of climate change.“Democratic AGs now hold 27 offices,” said Lizzie Ulmer, communications director for the Democratic Attorneys General Association. “That puts us in the majority.”The Democrats’ gains on Nov. 6 give them precisely the slim majority the Republicans used to hold. Among the ousted were some staunch supporters of the fossil fuel industry.The question is whether this new coalition of Democratic attorneys general will act en masse, launching investigations and filing suits as a coordinated bloc, as their Republican predecessors did.Throughout most of the Obama administration, the GOP attorneys general formed a united front. They challenged the Democratic administration on a host of issues, from health care to critical environmental issues like the Clean Power Plan, which sought to leverage market forces to cut carbon emissions, and the Waters of United States rule that gives federal regulators a larger role in regulating tributaries to major navigable waterways, which previously had been beyond federal reach.“They were very coordinated in their efforts to be a bloc and to be obstructionist during the Obama administration,” Ulmer said. As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott once described his former job as the state’s attorney general: “I go into the office, I sue the federal government and I go home.”Even when they were in the minority, however, Democratic attorneys general have been active, especially since the beginning of the Trump administration. They have, either separately or as a team, sued the administration 38 times, with some, like California’s recently re-elected Xavier Becerra, proving particularly litigious. Becerra was involved in 24 of those cases and has won 14 of them.Those lawsuits are likely to continue, and the new crop of Democratic attorney generals could bolster their ranks and file a few more of their own.That’s particularly likely in a place like Michigan, where Democrat Dana Nessel easily defeated Tom Leonard, the heir apparent to Republican Bill Schuette, who unsuccessfully ran for governor. Under Schuette, Michigan was among the most ferocious states in its support of the oil and gas industry, filing an amicus brief, for example, <a href="https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/09/05/bill-schuette-backs-exxon-mobil-appeal-that-calls-climate-change-unsettled-science" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">backing Exxon against a landmark lawsuit</a> filed by New York State alleging that the company defrauded investors by hiding the risks of climate change. In the brief, Schuette declared climate change to be “unsettled science.”Many expect Michigan will do an about-face, said Lisa Wozniak, executive director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. In a state that is still coping with the fallout from the catastrophic lead contamination of Flint’s water supply, Nessel ran on an aggressive environmental platform. A <a href="https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/10/dana_nessel_hopes_to_bring_the.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">cornerstone of her campaign</a> was a pledge to use the full force of the office to decommission the 65-year-old Enbridge 5 pipeline, which carries tar sands oil from Canada under the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. “It’s been deemed one of the most serious threats to the Great Lakes and our drinking water,” Wozniak said, “but I’d also say that it’s intimately linked to climate since it is carrying tar sands.”A larger questions is whether Nessel would consider joining New York and Rhode Island in their liability suits against the industry. “I know she cares deeply about energy policy and climate change,” Wozniak said. “And while she has not specifically said that she’s going to be joining those cases I would not be surprised if she did.” Nessel declined to comment for this story. In neighboring Wisconsin, Josh Kaul unseated another of Exxon’s chief allies, Republican Brad Schimel. That gave the party dominance in the upper Midwest because in Minnesota, Rep. Keith Ellison will replace fellow Democrat Lori Swanson and Illinois also replaced its incumbent with another Democrat, Kwame Raoul.  The oil and gas industry also lost an ally in Nevada, where outgoing Republican Attorney General Adam Laxalt had <a href="https://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/10/adam-laxalt-nevada-republican-nominee-exxon-mobil-koch-brothers-donor-foil/1203690002/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">emerged as a key foe</a> of New York’s lawsuit against Exxon. Nevada voters rejected both Laxalt’s bid for governor and elected Aaron Ford, a Democrat, over Laxalt’s hand-picked successor, Wes Duncan.Democrats also picked up a seat in the gas-rich state of Colorado, where Democrat Phil Weiser defeated Republican George Brauchler. Weiser <a href="https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2018/08/21/attorney-general-candidates-worlds-apart-on-state-issues/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">has not made clear</a> how aggressively he intends to pursue climate-related cases and investigations. Weiser’s office did not immediately respond to a request for an interview, but in the past, the University of Colorado Law School professor has expressed skepticism about the suits filed against oil and gas producers. Three Colorado communities, including the City and County of Boulder, <a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/04/17/colorado-climate-lawsuits-exxon-suncor/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">have filed liability suits</a> against Exxon and Suncor. And it remains unclear whether the ever-litigious Becerra, who in the two years since he succeeded Kamala Harris as California’s AG, will join lawsuits against Exxon and other oil producers. He <a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2017/09/18/exxon-climate-fraud-california-xavier-becerra-kamala-harris/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">has remained noncommittal</a> on that topic, so it remains to be seen whether that changes now that he has a mandate from the voters.What is clear is that the new class of attorneys general is taking office at a time when their colleagues have already begun the spade work on some novel approaches to holding fossil fuel producers accountable for the effects of climate change.In addition to <a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/10/24/new-york-attorney-general-exxon-climate-fraud/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">the New York suit</a>, which relies on a 1921 anti-fraud act aimed at curbing Wall Street excesses, and <a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/07/02/rhode-island-climate-liability-suit/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">a suit by Rhode Island</a>, which uses its anti-nuisance laws to hold 14 oil and gas companies liable for pollution, Massachusetts <a href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2017/11/13/maura-healey-massachusetts-exxon-climate-investigation/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">is using consumer protection laws</a> to argue that the industry’s failure to alert the public to the long-term risks of its products amounted to false and unfair advertising.“One thing that’s really interesting in working with Democratic attorneys general across the country is that every office is a little bit different in how it’s structured, what powers they’ve been given, what their budgets are, what sort of authority they have,” Ulmer said. “When it comes to issue-specific questions, it truly is going to depend on the state.“But I can tell you a number of these candidates have talked about the importance of climate change, protecting the environment, protecting natural resources, making sure that the citizens of their states have clean water and really clean air and protecting the future during their campaigns. We know that’s something they’re going to continue…once they’re fully transitioned into office.”interim AG pretty ogood but<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14092018/letitia-james-new-york-attorney-general-primary-exxon-investigation-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-change">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14092018/letitia-james-new-york-attorney-general-primary-exxon-investigation-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-change</a>tool<a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General(state_executive_office)">https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General(state_executive_office)</a><table class="wikitable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background: rgb(249, 249, 249); margin: 1em 1em 1em 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); max-width: 100%; width: 658px;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General" class="mw-redirect" title="Attorney General" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Attorney General</a></td><td align="center" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">21</td><td align="center" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">27</td><td align="center" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">1</td><td align="center" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">2</td><td align="center" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">50</td></tr></tbody></table>  ===<a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/trump-economy-path-another-financial-crisis-and-its-likely-be-even-worse-time">https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/trump-economy-path-another-financial-crisis-and-its-likely-be-even-worse-time</a><div class="headline" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="node-title" style="line-height: 52px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; clear: both;">Path for Another Financial Crisis — And It's Likely to Be Even Worse This Time</h1></div><div class="teaser" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ten years after Lehman Brothers’ collapse, the Wall Street casino is running amok.</div></div></div></div><div class="byline news-politics" style="margin-bottom: 0px; max-width: 350px; float: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">By <a href="https://www.alternet.org/authors/lynn-parramore-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Lynn Parramore</a> / <a href="https://ineteconomics.org/ideas-papers/blog" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Institute for New Economic Thinking</a></div>
In summer’s end, the U.S. economy looks to be sizzling. Unemployment is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-unemployment/us-jobless-claims-fall-to-near-49-year-low-idUSKCN1LM1RC" style="text-decoration-line: none;">low</a>. Growth is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-gdp/u-s-second-quarter-gdp-growth-raised-to-4-2-percent-consumer-spending-cut-idUSKCN1LE1GB" style="text-decoration-line: none;">higher</a> than expected. Consumer confidence is <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/08/16/larry_kudlow_at_cabinet_meeting_we_are_crushing_it_on_economy.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">soaring</a> and Wall Street just set a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2018/08/26/bull-market-who-gets-credit-record-run-stocks/1073780002/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">record</a> bull run.“We are crushing it,” Trump’s economic advisor Larry Kudlow recently <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/08/16/larry_kudlow_at_cabinet_meeting_we_are_crushing_it_on_economy.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">boasted</a>.The euphoria feels a bit like… just before the crash of 2007-8. Does that worry you? It should.<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 20px;">Hold onto your 401(k)s, because the Wall Street casino that nearly tanked the global economy ten years ago is up and running amok again. But what about the much-touted safeguards in place today? It’s true that in 2010, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed to ensure that taxpayers would never again be on the hook to bailout of big financial institutions.Alas, according to Michael Greenberger, a law professor at the University of Maryland and one the key voices to raise alarms a decade ago, you can’t trust that promise. In new <a href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/how-the-largest-banks-are-leading-us-to-a-new-financial-crisis" style="text-decoration-line: none;">research</a> for the Institute for New Economic Thinking, he warns that bankers are wriggling right out of Dodd-Frank’s rules.If something goes wrong it could be even worse than last time. So we need to clearly see the game that’s being played.A Boom That Went BustFirst, let’s recap what happened last time to knock millions out of their jobs and homes and send peoples’ savings down the tube.The late nineties real estate boom made people think, wow! Housing prices are going to keep going up. Let’s get a mortgage! Banks got excited and created investment vehicles to sell loans bundled together as Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), which promised higher returns to investors. Credit ratings agencies gave the CDOs high ratings and investors snapped them up.CDOs became so hot that banks wanted to make more of them, so they started giving mortgage loans to just about anybody, even if they were broke. More than a few became famous as “Ninja” loans — no income, no job (see Thomas Herndon’s <a href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/mortgage-fraud-fueled-the-financial-crisis-and-could-again" style="text-decoration-line: none;">recent discussion</a> of that fraud-fueled nightmare).Banks said no problem: housing prices will keep rising, so people can just refinance their homes to pay off the loans. They sold these dodgy bundled mortgages to investors, and the credit ratings agencies cheered them, too, because banks paid them.A few people said, wait; maybe the value of these CDOs will collapse if people default on the underlying mortgages. They wanted to insure the CDOs in case that happened—even though they had made none of the underlying loans! Banks and other financial institutions at first thought these people were stupid, but they were happy to sell them insurance for a hefty fee, using a financial product called a “naked” credit default swap.The naked credit default swap is a problem. Picking out sets of mortgages that you have no financial relationship to and betting that they won’t be paid off is like seeing a sick neighbor who you think is going to die and taking out insurance on their life. For centuries insurance law said no, you can’t insure risk that is not your own.If you take out insurance on mortgages you don’t own, you sure as heck don’t want the debtor getting out of debt, through bankruptcy for example, do you? No way: then you don’t get your insurance pay out. Incentives get very shady. But the banks and big financial institutions, including insurance companies like AIG, sold the naked credit default swaps anyway, saying they weren’t really insurance. Which was nonsense. By federal statute, transactions on all this stuff were unregulated and undisclosed, so nobody had a clue how much they were worth and who had them. Investors kept on betting trillions that people would fail to pay off their mortgages even though they didn’t own them. Some of these actual home mortgages were bet on as many as nine times!Then everything spun out of control. Too many houses got built that people couldn’t afford and prices started coming down. Folks started to default, so CDO values collapsed, too, and banks like Goldman Sachs bought “insurance” on the very products they sold to investors. That’s kind of like selling cars and betting they will blow up as you drive home. Greenberger points out that if we had just had regular defaults on mortgages, without all the crazy side bets, we would have had economic problems, sure, but nothing like a Great Recession.Instead, banks ended up with heaps of bad loans they couldn’t sell. Everybody who had taken out “insurance” on CDOs demanded their money, but nobody could pay.The rest is history. Lehman Brothers imploded. The Federal Reserve bailed out AIG so that it could pay off at full value the naked credit default swaps of big banks. Taxpayers shelled out trillions—first a $7 billion bailout package, then trillions more in the form of a special Federal Reserve magic called quantitative easing, to keep the banks afloat. The guys who ran the firms that made this disaster got gold-plated bonuses and retirement packages.History Repeating Itself?So here we are in 2018. Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, says the economy is wonderful and we <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-powell-banks/fed-chair-nominee-powell-sees-no-too-big-to-fail-banks-idUSKBN1DS260" style="text-decoration-line: none;">won’t have too-big-to-fail banks</a> anymore. Everybody can relax and trust the financial system.Now, Dodd-Frank did do some good things. The riskiest stuff—like naked credit default swaps—was supposed to be overseen, principally by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the markets were meant to become more transparent. When you trade credit default swaps, somebody — a clearing facility — has to be between you and the other party to the swap to guarantee that the underlying obligation is paid off. Exchanges were created to make these transactions transparent.Both clearing facilities and exchanges would hit the alarm bell if a company like AIG started to lose a lot of money on swaps. The government would also be told who is making all the bets. If a firm didn’t have the money to cover the bets, then the clearing facility would close out the transaction before losses started to pile up.So we’re all good, right? Wrong, says Greenberger.The banks may have turned away from the business of insuring bundles of mortgages, but now they’re bundling and betting other kinds of debt, like credit card debt, student loans, auto loans, corporate loans — you name it. It’s the same casino games: they make asset-backed securities which turn into CDOs, then come the “naked” credit default swaps, and so on. Once again, people who are not making the loans are betting that those loans won’t be paid off.And guess what? While everybody was relaxing, the banks figured out a way to do their swaps deals outside of the jurisdiction of Dodd-Frank. They snuck the risky business overseas where the U.S. regulators can’t watch them.One thing they didn’t move overseas: the risk to you.The shady scheme went down like this: In 2013, the CFTC put out guidelines about how Dodd-Frank would apply to swaps executed outside the U.S. The CFTC said that “guaranteed” foreign subsidiaries to U.S. bank holding companies that traded swaps were subject to Dodd-Frank regulation. Since the standard swaps agreement for over two decades included a guarantee that the U.S. bank would back the deal if things went south for a foreign subsidiary, there was no reason to worry if risky swaps were traded by that subsidiary. Everybody understood if you were the counterparty to one of these deals, you counted on the bank to stand behind the foreign subsidiary.So far, so good. Except for the matter of a tiny footnote.Deep in the fine print of hundreds of footnotes in the CFTC guidelines, the major swaps dealer trade association found a little item saying that in a contract, you could, if you really wanted to, choose not to guarantee deals made in a foreign subsidiary. If you did not guarantee them, then Dodd-Frank would not apply.The swaps dealers association pounced. They said to their members, like Bank of America and Citigroup: Let’s do it! Just put a note in the contract that you won’t stand behind the subsidiary if it fails. We’ll move as many swaps as we want to our newly “deguaranteed” foreign offices so we can forget all about Dodd-Frank. Under cover of darkness, without notifying the CFTC, they got rolling. The banks got so cocky that some swaps dealers just started doing their deals in New York and then, after they were done, “assigning” them to foreign subsidiaries. Presto! No more pesky regulation. Some customers wanting to buy swaps complained that this was too risky. But then they said to themselves, wait: if the foreign subsidiary fails and Goldman or JP Morgan won’t cover the loss, does it really matter? After all, we know from 2008 that big banks get big bailouts from U.S. taxpayers if they fail. (Ed Kane, a finance professor at Boston College, has <a href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/bankers-think-they-have-an-ethical-duty-to-steal-from-taxpayers" style="text-decoration-line: none;">warned</a> about this implicit guarantee, which actually inflates bank stocks and supports prices of their bonds). So the customers shrugged and kept on betting with these foreign subsidiaries.Greenberger explains that the CFTC caught up to the shenanigans in 2016 and made proposals to stop them. The four biggest banks, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America, which do 90% of all the swaps deals in the U.S., argued that it’s really not a problem because if the trades get assigned to London or Frankfurt, for example, the European Union (EU) has lots of regulations to make sure everything is safe and sound.To this, Greenberger says, “Who are they kidding? Just look at the EU. Deutsche Bank is hanging on by its fingernails. Many Italian banks are failing. Turkey is in terrible trouble. The financial markets in those countries are teetering, and we’re going to rely on them to regulate this stuff?”There’s another catch: U.S. regulators can’t get information on these “foreign” deals, so nobody knows the full extent of the trading. But you can think in terms of many trillions of dollars. Basically, we’re right back to a non-transparent market with boatloads of money sloshing around everywhere. Just like last time.The CFTC regulators told the banks that their “deguarantee” argument was baloney and vowed to stipulate that Dodd-Frank applied to these deals. Then Trump got elected.“Deregulation” is one of Trump’s favorites words, so closing this loophole now is about as likely as a bank CEO going to jail. Not happening.Consider this: Right now, American students are amassing huge piles of debt. If students stop paying off their loans, there will be a lot of defaults. Actually, it’s already starting to happen. On Wall Street, people have been betting on these defaults and buying naked credit default swaps to guarantee that they will be paid if the students can’t pay.By the way, wonder why it’s so hard to get out of student debt once you’ve got it? Because the Wall Street casino guys with the naked credit default swaps want their insurance money, that’s why.Casino games are also rolling with credit card debt. Same thing with auto loans. Corporate-debt, too. We’re talking trillions of dollars in defaults. Sound familiar?If this continues, what happens to the credit defaults swaps that have been assigned to an office in Frankfurt? Who pays if the foreign subsidiary goes under? Not the citizens of Germany, says Greenberger. You can be sure of that.This hasn’t happened yet, but there was a red flag back in 2012. The London Whale scandal, which reared its ugly head when a trader at a London subsidiary of JP Morgan lost $6 billion in a swaps deal, came after Dodd-Frank passed, but before it went into effect (and before the loophole was discovered). The bank had enough in cash reserves to take that enormous hit, but most banks would not. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/lynn-parramore/jamie-dimons-ultra-americ_b_2915429.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">called it</a> a “tempest in a teapot.” Others were not convinced: Forbes magazine put out an <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2013/01/24/how-jamie-dimon-endangers-the-public-safety/#58ae2d155166" style="text-decoration-line: none;">article</a> about it called, “How Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase Endanger the Public Safety.”(By the way, JP Morgan and other big banks, along with bank-friendly regulators, have been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-proposes-retooling-big-bank-capital-rule-1523478608" style="text-decoration-line: none;">arguing</a> that they should be able to keep less money on reserve).Greenberger notes that the London Whale was the result of trading by just one guy. If you had ten of these, the banks probably wouldn’t be able to pay off their obligations and the counterparties wouldn’t be able to pay off theirs, either.It’s 2007 all over again. Greenberger says that if big financial firms fail because they can’t pay each other off, it’s not going to be a recession, but more like the Great Depression. A worldwide economic meltdown with everybody trying to get their money out of the banks and institutions failing everywhere you turn. The only way to stop it would be to bail the banks out.But American taxpayers hate that idea. Greenberger doesn’t believe they’d go for it. Even if the Federal Reserve stepped in to do some behind-the-scenes magic like quantitative easing instead of an upfront bailout that Congress would have to approve, he thinks that the public would still mobilize to fight it.“Besides that,” he notes, “I think we can subjectively say that Trump’s federal regulators are not as skilled as those who handled the last crisis. So it’s going to be total havoc.”Political Chaos on the HorizonIt would be hard to exaggerate just what a political crisis this would be. The Tea Party, you’ll recall, emerged as a response to anger at the bank bailouts. Bitterness over the injustice of what happened in 2008 may well be a key reason why Trump is president.“Everybody else went through trauma, except the big banks,” Greenberger observes. “Dick Fuld of Lehman has got houses all over the world, sitting pretty. The head of Merrill Lynch got a golden multi-million dollar parachute. The rest of us were losing jobs or flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s. If something goes wrong again and there’s wind that these four big banks are somehow going to be rescued in spite of their recklessness, there will be political hell to pay for that.”Remember, another systematic bank failure leaves two ugly possibilities: a bailout or a depression, with perhaps a third of the country out of work. Faced with this choice, the public might be even more enraged than last time. Trust would break down completely. If you sit down and start thinking about that, you begin to get very, very worried.A Way Out?There’s one avenue of relief, says Greenberger. Not an easy one, but a possibility.State attorneys general have a statutory right to bring actions in federal district court on behalf of their citizens to enforce Dodd-Frank. Because the banks are clearly evading the law, he says it’s an open and shut case: “The law says that if these transactions could imperil the US economy, Dodd-Frank applies wherever they take place.”The trouble is finding attorneys general with the will to fight. Greenberger says that unfortunately, many of them, while otherwise first rate, just don’t understand the swaps market. “They tremble and panic over the idea that they might have to bring a lawsuit concerning swaps,” he says.The Democratic Party, he reminds us, is pretty much split between those who are sympathetic to the banks (and enjoy taking political contributions from them) and those who want to fight this stuff out. It’s far from certain that the second group will be heeded.    Trump assures Americans that there’s only smooth sailing ahead. Everybody will be employed and banks will no longer be dangerous. The economy is “the greatest ever,” he <a href="https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/06/04/ap-fact-check-trump-says-economy-best-ever-its-not" style="text-decoration-line: none;">claims</a>....
<header class="entry-header" myriad="Myriad" pro="Pro" system-ui="system-ui" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" sans="Sans" droid="Droid" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-right: 202.141px; margin-left: 67.375px;"><h1 class="entry-title" myriad="Myriad" pro="Pro" myriad-pro="myriad-pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" hyphens="hyphens" none="none" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; margin: 0px 0px 0.848485em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Mason Attorneys General Education Program</h1></header><div class="entry-content" myriad="Myriad" pro="Pro" system-ui="system-ui" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" sans="Sans" droid="Droid" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-right: 202.141px; margin-left: 67.375px; border-color: rgb(209, 209, 209);"><h2 myriad="Myriad" pro="Pro" myriad-pro="myriad-pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; margin: 0px 0px 1.21739em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://masonlec.org/lec_new/upcoming-events-attorneys-general-education-program" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: none;">UPCOMING EVENTS</a>  | <a href="http://masonlec.org/lec_new/past-events-attorneys-general-education-program" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: none;">PAST EVENTS</a></h2>State Attorneys General face an incredibly diverse and complex array of issues that have significant regulatory and public policy implications. The Attorneys General Education Program offers substantive continuing professional education programs designed to help AGs and their senior staff lawyers deepen their knowledge of the economics principles that underlie those issues and improve their prosecutorial and public policy decision-making skills.With the advice of a bipartisan Advisory Board comprised pf current and former state attorneys general, the AGEP offers timely, rigorous, and balanced programs that teach basic economics concepts and how to apply them to important issues facing states. It also offers more focused educational programs that analyze the underlying economics of a variety of topic, ranging from banking and finance to consumer protection, and from energy and environmental regulation to the economics of the sharing economy.AGEP offerings include:<div style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px;"><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; padding: 0px; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: none;"><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; list-style: disc;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: none;"><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; list-style: disc;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">The Economics Institute: The Attorneys General Economics Institute provides an introduction to basic concepts of law and economics with a focus on applications in the public policy arena relevant to state officials. Over three days of classroom lectures and discussions, participants learn about markets in action, property rights and exchange, competition and monopoly, information costs and transaction costs, and the economics of insurance.</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Policy Institutes, Workshops, and Symposia: Public policy institutes and workshops build on the economics training provided in the Economics Institute and apply those lessons to specific policy issues. Symposia and public policy conferences feature panel discussions and debates by leading experts on many of the issues state AG offices and other policymakers face in the course of their public service. These programs are typically open to attorneys at sate and federal regulatory agencies in addition to AG senior staff lawyers.</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></div><p pt="PT" serif="serif" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e8a2cd9143e14b3397c5ba8d2bfde9c0/apnewsbreak-attorneys-general-cast-doubt-utah-land-push" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">Associated Press reported this week </a>that the Western Conference of Attorneys General has issued<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3117841-CWAG-Public-Lands-Subcommittee-Report-PDF.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;"> an analysis</a> rejecting claims made by leading proponents of a public lands takeover scheme who were claiming, laughably, that the  U.S. government has no right to hold national forests, wildlife refuges, national monuments, and other public lands in trust for all Americans.<p pt="PT" serif="serif" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Utah is currently in the process of planning a <a href="http://westernpriorities.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6b3f59dc19c07727b0b196979&id=4fd45e1f8c&e=4cc30cc0ad" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://westernpriorities.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D6b3f59dc19c07727b0b196979%26id%3D4fd45e1f8c%26e%3D4cc30cc0ad&source=gmail&ust=1475672570760000&usg=AFQjCNGDqMFmRyOYix6L3hJTuF_hrFTk4w" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">$14 million dollar lawsuit</a> against the U.S. government for control over public lands.  No other Western states have joined Utah in pouring their money down the toilet. This new analysis by the mostly republican AGs in the very states Montana State Senator Jennifer Fielder (who leads the public land takeover movement) has been targeting, throws cold water on any remaining delusions that this nonsense would fly.  Fielder had been <a href="https://jenniferfieldermontana.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/utah-could-win-public-lands-lawsuit/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">telling us the exact opposite</a>, that Utah could succeed.<p pt="PT" serif="serif" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;">By a vote of 11 to 1, the bipartisan group of Western Attorneys General adopted the analysis undermining Utah’s legal case. The AP got the analysis through a public records request.  There were seven Republican attorneys general, three Democrats and one independent, including AGs from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Utah (hilariously), Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Arizona.  They voted 11-1 (Nevada was the lone dissenter) to approve the report at their annual meeting in Idaho this summer, but the AP wasn’t able to get the report until now.<p pt="PT" serif="serif" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;"> ballotopedia hmmn<table border="1" class="wikitable collapsible ; collapsed ; sortable" width="60%" id="collapsibleTable0" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" line-height="line-height" px="px" background="https://webbrain.com/brainpage/brain/background" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody><tr><th style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; text-align: center; background: rgb(0, 0, 139);">State</th><th style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; text-align: center; background: rgb(0, 0, 139);">Officer</th><th style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; text-align: center; background: rgb(0, 0, 139);">Assumed office</th></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Nevada" title="Attorney General of Nevada" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nevada</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Adam_Paul_Laxalt" title="Adam Paul Laxalt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Adam Laxalt</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2015</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_South_Carolina" title="Attorney General of South Carolina" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">South Carolina</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Alan_Wilson(South_Carolina)" title="Alan Wilson (South Carolina)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Alan Wilson</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2011</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Michigan" title="Attorney General of Michigan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Michigan</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Bill_Schuette" title="Bill Schuette" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">William Duncan "Bill" Schuette</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2011</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Wisconsin" title="Attorney General of Wisconsin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wisconsin</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Brad_Schimel" title="Brad Schimel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Brad Schimel</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2015</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Alaska" title="Attorney General of Alaska" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Alaska</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Craig_W.Richards" title="Craig W. Richards" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Craig W. Richards</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2014</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Colorado" title="Attorney General of Colorado" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Colorado</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Cynthia_Coffman" title="Cynthia Coffman" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cynthia Coffman</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2015</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Kansas" title="Attorney General of Kansas" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kansas</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Derek_Schmidt" title="Derek Schmidt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Derek Schmidt</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2011</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Nebraska_Attorney_General" title="Nebraska Attorney General" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nebraska</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Doug_Peterson" title="Doug Peterson" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Doug Peterson</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2015</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Indiana" title="Attorney General of Indiana" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Indiana</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Greg_Zoeller" title="Greg Zoeller" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Greg Zoeller</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2009</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Tennessee" title="Attorney General of Tennessee" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tennessee</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Herbert_H.Slatery" title="Herbert H. Slatery" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Herbert H. Slatery</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2014</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Louisiana" title="Attorney General of Louisiana" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Louisiana</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Jeff_Landry" title="Jeff Landry" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jeff Landry</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2016</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Texas" title="Attorney General of Texas" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Texas</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Ken_Paxton" title="Ken Paxton" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ken Paxton</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2015</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Idaho" title="Attorney General of Idaho" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Idaho</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Lawrence_Wasden" title="Lawrence Wasden" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Lawrence Wasden</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2003</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Arkansas" title="Attorney General of Arkansas" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Arkansas</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Leslie_Rutledge" title="Leslie Rutledge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Leslie Rutledge</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2015</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Alabama" title="Attorney General of Alabama" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Alabama</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Luther_Strange" title="Luther Strange" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Luther J. Strange, III</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2011</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Arizona" title="Attorney General of Arizona" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Arizona</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Mark_Brnovich" title="Mark Brnovich" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mark Brnovich</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2015</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_South_Dakota" title="Attorney General of South Dakota" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">South Dakota</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Marty_J.Jackley" title="Marty J. Jackley" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Marty J. Jackley</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2009</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Ohio" title="Attorney General of Ohio" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ohio</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_DeWine" title="Mike DeWine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Richard Michael DeWine</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2011</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Florida" title="Attorney General of Florida" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Florida</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Pam_Bondi" title="Pam Bondi" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pam Bondi</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2011</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_West_Virginia" title="Attorney General of West Virginia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">West Virginia</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Patrick_Morrisey" title="Patrick Morrisey" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Patrick Morrisey</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2013</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Wyoming" title="Attorney General of Wyoming" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wyoming</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Peter_Michael" title="Peter Michael" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Peter Michael</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2013</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_New_Jersey" title="Attorney General of New Jersey" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New Jersey</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Robert_Lougy" title="Robert Lougy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Robert Lougy</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2013</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Georgia" title="Attorney General of Georgia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Georgia</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Samuel_S.Olens" title="Samuel S. Olens" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Samuel S. Olens</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2011</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Oklahoma" title="Attorney General of Oklahoma" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Oklahoma</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Scott_Pruitt" title="Scott Pruitt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Scott Pruitt</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2011</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Utah" title="Attorney General of Utah" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Utah</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Sean_D.Reyes" title="Sean D. Reyes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sean D. Reyes</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2013</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Montana" title="Attorney General of Montana" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Montana</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Tim_Fox(Montana)" title="Tim Fox (Montana)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tim Fox</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2013</center></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_North_Dakota" title="Attorney General of North Dakota" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">North Dakota</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Wayne_Stenehjem" title="Wayne Stenehjem" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wayne Stenehjem</a></center></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><center>2001</center></td></tr></tbody></table><div open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" float="float" right="right" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><table class="wikitable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="200" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); border-collapse: collapse; background: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><div class="embedvideo " style="width: 200px;">
</div>
</td></tr></tbody></table></div> =DIVEST now a legal strategy?<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 22.5px;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><figure id="file-267353" class="file file-image file-image-jpeg with-caption" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><figcaption class="field field-name-field-image-caption field-type-text-long field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 2em; line-height: 1.6; border-right: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); border-left: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); border-top-style: none;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Bevis Longstreth, a former SEC commissioner, says his new proposal to state attorneys general for an "interpretive release" and guidance on climate-related risk could open the floodgates of divestment from coal, oil and gas companies</div></figcaption></div></figure></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 22.5px;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The money managers of university and non-profit endowments owe a debt of gratitude to a lawyer named Bevis Longstreth. He's hardly a household name, but <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Investment-Management-Prudent-Rule/dp/0195041968?ie=UTF8&Version=1&entries=0" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit;">an obscure book</a> he published 30 years ago provoked a modernization of the legal definition of prudent investing that changed their lives for the better.His work opened the door for trustees of non-profits to make investments that are now at the heart of modern portfolio management. Previously they were out of bounds because they were considered too risky."Imagine all the pension funds in this country, and all the institutions like Yale and others, they are all deeply invested in hedge funds," Longstreth said. "When I wrote that book it would have been impossible for them to invest in a hedge fund."Now Longstreth, 82, is out to rock the world of non-profit money managers again. This time he doesn't have a book, <a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/documents/UPMIFAInterpretationBevisLongstrethPDF.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit;">but merely a six-page argument</a>.His proposal calls for a legal reinterpretation of what constitutes prudent management of institutional funds now that the investment landscape is filled with new risks for fossil fuel investors.With the world heading toward zero carbon emissions after the signing of the Paris agreement, Longstreth thinks it's time for some fresh guidance.To that end, he's working channels to convince various attorneys general to spell out those risks in an "interpretive release," and offer guidance on how to handle them. He thinks the attorneys general of New York, Massachusetts and California will be most receptive to his proposal.If the guidance is published, Longstreth says, it could open floodgates of divestment from coal, oil and gas companies. That's because, as he explains in the extensive interview below, it can't be ignored.Every state in the union (except Pennsylvania and the territory of Puerto Rico) has its own version of the uniform law governing investments by trustees, known by the acronym <a href="http://www.uniformlaws.org/ActSummary.aspx?title=Prudent%20Management%20of%20Institutional%20Funds%20Act" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent;">UPMIFA</a>. And each attorney general has power to issue guidance on how to exercise prudence under that uniform law.The question remains whether any attorney general would offer guidance singling out a particular asset class.Though retired from legal practice and now a three-time novelist, Longstreth brings considerable experience to his latest legal rethink. He was twice appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission. For decades he was a securities lawyer and partner at <a href="http://www.debevoise.com/bevislongstreth" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent;">Debevoise & Plimpton</a>, a prominent international firm.He wears wire-rimmed glasses, carries degrees from Princeton (B.S. 1956) and Harvard (LL.B 1961), and has a careful manner of choosing words precisely.We spoke with Longstreth about his career, his latest legal effort, and how it could provoke change.ICN: Your career included being a commissioner of the SEC. How were you chosen and how would you characterize your tenure?Longstreth:  I served in the SEC from 1981-1984. I was appointed by President Reagan to a shortened term to fill out somebody who had retired, and then Reagan reappointed me to occupy a Democratic seat on the commission. I think for President Reagan I was not an obvious choice, given my political background, but I was chosen because Jim Baker [Reagan's former chief of staff] wanted me there.</div></div></div>http://insideclimatenews.org/news/07062016/retired-lawyer-boris-longstreth-floodgates-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-change-investments
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team red_CPPWest Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is leading the charge, called it “the single most onerous and illegal regulations that we’ve seen coming out of DC in a long time.” He added, “the EPA cannot do what it intends to do legally.”Morrisey is joined by attorneys general from Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Arizona and North Carolina. //RAGA

team blue:
In a move many are hailing as a “turning point” in the climate fight, 20 state Attorneys General on Tuesday launched an unprecedented, multi-state effort to investigate and prosecute the “high-funded and morally vacant forces” that have stymied attempts to combat global warming—starting with holding <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/tag/exxonknew" target="blank">ExxonMobil</a> and<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/12/22/more-exxon-big-oil-companies-years-shared-damning-climate-research" target="blank">other</a> industry giants accountable for fraud and suppression of key climate science.“This is about facts, and science, and transparency,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, who spoke at a press conference alongside New York Attorney General <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/11/06/exxon-climate-scandal-subpoena/">Eric Schneiderman</a>, former Vice President <a href="http://ecowatch.com/?s=Al+Gore">Al Gore</a> and seven other Attorneys General.“Fossil fuel companies that deceived investors and consumers about the dangers of <a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/">climate change</a> should be, must be held accountable,” Healey continued, saying there is a “troubling disconnect between what Exxon knew, what industry folks knew and the company and industry chose to share with investors and the American public.”The coalition of Attorneys General from 16 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands was convened by Schneiderman, who in November <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/05/exxonknew-escalates-ny-attorney-general-subpoenas-oil-giant-over-climate-crimes" target="blank">announced</a> a state investigation into Exxon after reporting <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/09/big-oil-knew-big-oil-lied-and-planet-earth-got-fried" target="blank">revealed</a> that the oil giant had for decades known and suppressed evidence about the dangers that fossil fuels posed to the environment and then purposely disseminated false information in order to boost its profits.<div>California has also <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/20/big-california-taking-exxonmobils-climate-cover" target="blank">launched</a> an investigation and on Tuesday Healey and U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Earl Walker confirmed their states have as well. Schneiderman said that additional states were pursuing similar action and that the purpose of the coalition is to work together in this “common interest.”“The scope of the problem we are facing, the size of the corporate entities and alliances and trade associations [working against science and public interest] is massive and it requires a multi-state effort,” Schneiderman said.AG Walker said that Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are already “experiencing the effects of global warming,” from <a href="http://ecowatch.com/?s=coral+bleaching">coral bleaching</a> and the proliferation of seaweed, to ever-more powerful hurricanes.“It is troubling that, as the polar caps melt, there are companies that are looking at that as an opportunity to go and drill, to go and get more oil. How selfish can you be?” Walker asked. “Your product is destroying this Earth and you want to do what? Destroy the planet further,” he added, saying they have “documents” showing just that.“We will not stop until we get to bottom of this and make it clear we have to do something transformational,” he added. “We cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels.”Environmental groups that have spearheaded the call for accountability and investigations into what Exxon knew heralded the announcements and the new AG climate coalition.“This creates a huge sense of momentum. Exxon may have been able to brush aside a few isolated inquiries, but with more states jumping on board, these investigations are sure to generate some serious waves,” said May Boeve, executive director of 350.org, which on Tuesday launched the website <a href="http://exxonknew.org/" target="blank">ExxonKnew.org </a>to share information about the investigations and petition the U.S. Department of Justice and state Attorneys General to “hold Exxon accountable.”“The Exxon revelations may turn out to be the largest corporate scandal in history,” Boeve continued. “Everyone is impacted by climate change, which means everyone has a stake in these investigations. A trial of ExxonMobil and the fossil fuel industry would be even bigger than the cases against Big Tobacco.”As Katherine Sawyer, senior international organizer for watchdog group Corporate Accountability International, explained in an emailed statement following the press conference:<blockquote>“In the ’90s, investigations by attorneys general were the beginning of the end for Big Tobacco as we knew it and ushered in a series of lawsuits that shuttered its front groups, forced the release of internal documents and held it liable to pay the high cost of its impacts on society. Just as a similar coalition did with Big Tobacco, this powerful coalition of state Attorneys General are leading the way in holding Exxon and the rest of the fossil fuel industry accountable for their decades of deception and protecting climate policy from their profit-driven interference.”</blockquote>“Big Polluters have done everything in their power to deny climate change, it is time for our justice system to take back the climate debate,” <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/03/29/seventeen-attorneys-general-joint-climate-announcement-greenpeace-response" target="blank">declared</a> <a href="http://ecowatch.com/author/aleonard/">Annie Leonard</a>, Greenpeace USA executive director, who said the AGs’ announcement was “a clear demonstration of climate leadership.”The coalition includes Attorneys General from California, Connecticut, District Of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington state and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Appearing alongside members of that group, former Vice President Al Gore, whose 2006 documentary film An Inconvenient Truth is credited with spurring public debate about climate change, said, “I really believe that years from now this convening … may well be looked back upon as a major turning point in the effort to hold to account those commercial interests … who have been deceiving the American people about the dangers of climate change.”Watch the full press conference here:<a href="http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/30/climate-change-investigation-exxon/">http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/30/climate-change-investigation-exxon/</a>
</div>=<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Party_affiliation_of_current_United_States_attorneys_general.svg/400px-Party_affiliation_of_current_United_States_attorneys_general.svg.png" class="thumbimage" data-file-width="959" data-file-height="593" height="247" width="400" />
The state attorney general in each of the 50 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.state" title="U.S. state">U.S. states</a> and territories is the chief legal advisor to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_governments_of_the_United_States" title="State governments of the United States">state government</a> and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_general" title="Attorney general">attorney general</a> serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Justice" title="United States Department of Justice">United States Department of Justice</a>.The current party composition of the state Attorneys General are:<ul><li>27 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party%28United_States%29" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republicans</a></li><li>23 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party%28United_States%29" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democrats</a></li></ul>The composition for territories and districts are:<ul><li>3 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party%28United_States%29" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democrats</a></li><li>3 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent%28politician%29" title="Independent (politician)" class="mw-redirect">Nonpartisan</a></li></ul><div id="toc" class="toc"><div id="toctitle"><h2>Contents</h2></div></div><div id="toc" class="toc"><ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#Selection">1 Selection</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#Table">2 Table</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#See_also">3 See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#References">4 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#External_links">5 External links</a></li></ul></div><h2>Selection</h2>The most prevalent method of selecting a state attorney general is by popular election. 43 states have an elected attorney general.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-Bangor-1">[1]</a> Elected attorneys general serve a four-year term, except in Vermont, where the term is two years. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-NAAG2010-2">[2]</a>Seven states do not elect an attorney general. In Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming, the attorney general is a gubernatorial appointee.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-Bangor-1">[1]</a> The attorney general in Tennessee is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for an eight-year term.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-Bangor-1">[1]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-NAAG2010-2">[2]</a> In Maine, the attorney general is elected by the state Legislature for a two-year term.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-Bangor-1">[1]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-NAAG2010-2">[2]</a>The District of Columbia and two U.S. territories, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, elect their attorneys general for a four-year term. 2014 marked the first year that the District of Columbia and Northern Mariana Islands held an election for the office. In American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the attorney general is appointed by governor.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-NAAG2014-3">[3]</a> In Puerto Rico, the attorney general is officially called the secretary of justice, but is commonly known as the Puerto Rico attorney general.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-4">[4]</a><h2>Table</h2>List of attorneys general by U.S. states and territories:Rows of the Attorney General table below are color coded indicating the political party of the office holder.<ul><li>Blue indicates <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party%28United_States%29" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democractic party</a>.</li><li>Pink is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party%28United_States%29" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican party</a>.</li><li>Yellow are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_politician" title="Independent politician">Independent politicians</a> (unaffiliated with a political party).</li><li>White indicates <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Democratic_Party%28Puerto_Rico%29" title="Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico)">Popular Democratic party</a>.</li></ul><table class="wikitable sortable jquery-tablesorter"><thead><tr><th title="Sort ascending" role="columnheader button" tabindex="0" class="headerSort">Officeholder</th><th title="Sort ascending" role="columnheader button" tabindex="0" class="headerSort">State</th><th title="Sort ascending" role="columnheader button" tabindex="0" class="headerSort">Party</th><th title="Sort ascending" role="columnheader button" tabindex="0" class="headerSort">Assumed office</th><th title="Sort ascending" role="columnheader button" tabindex="0" class="headerSort">Term expires</th><th title="Sort ascending" role="columnheader button" tabindex="0" class="headerSort">Law School</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Strange" title="Luther Strange">Luther Strange</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Alabama" title="Attorney General of Alabama">Alabama</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 17, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulane_University_Law_School" title="Tulane University Law School">Tulane University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_W.Richards" title="Craig W. Richards">Craig Richards</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Attorney_General" title="Alaska Attorney General">Alaska</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>December 2, 2014</td><td>Appointed by Governor</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_and_Lee_University_School_of_Law" title="Washington and Lee University School of Law">Washington and Lee University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talauega_Ale&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Talauega Ale (page does not exist)">Talauega Ale</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa" title="American Samoa">American Samoa</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 28, 2014</td><td>Appointed by Governor</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_University_Law_School" title="Drake University Law School">Drake University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Brnovich" title="Mark Brnovich">Mark Brnovich</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Attorney_General" title="Arizona Attorney General">Arizona</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 5, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_San_Diego_School_of_Law" title="University of San Diego School of Law">University of San Diego</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Rutledge" title="Leslie Rutledge">Leslie Rutledge</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas_Attorney_General" title="Arkansas Attorney General">Arkansas</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 13, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H.Bowen_School_of_Law" title="William H. Bowen School of Law">University of Arkansas, Little Rock</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris" title="Kamala Harris">Kamala Harris</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Attorney_General" title="California Attorney General">California</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 3, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Hastings_College_of_the_Law" title="University of California, Hastings College of the Law">University of California, Hastings</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29" title="Cynthia Coffman (politician)">Cynthia Coffman</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Attorney_General" title="Colorado Attorney General">Colorado</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 11, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_State_University_College_of_Law" title="Georgia State University College of Law">Georgia State University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jepsen" title="George Jepsen">George Jepsen</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Attorney_General" title="Connecticut Attorney General">Connecticut</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 5, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Law_School" title="Harvard Law School">Harvard University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Denn" title="Matthew Denn">Matthew Denn</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Attorney_General" title="Delaware Attorney General" class="mw-redirect">Delaware</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 6, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_Law_School" title="Yale Law School">Yale University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Racine" title="Karl Racine">Karl Racine</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_the_District_of_Columbia" title="Attorney General of the District of Columbia">District of Columbia</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 2, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law" title="University of Virginia School of Law">University of Virginia</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pam_Bondi" title="Pam Bondi">Pam Bondi</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Attorney_General" title="Florida Attorney General">Florida</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 4, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stetson_University_College_of_Law" title="Stetson University College of Law">Stetson University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Olens" title="Sam Olens">Sam Olens</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Georgia" title="Attorney General of Georgia">Georgia</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 10, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emory_University_School_of_Law" title="Emory University School of Law">Emory University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Barrett-Anderson" title="Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson">Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guam" title="Guam">Guam</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 5, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_University_School_of_Law" title="Santa Clara University School of Law">Santa Clara University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Chin" title="Doug Chin">Doug Chin</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Hawaii" title="Attorney General of Hawaii">Hawaii</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>March 12, 2015</td><td>Appointed by Governor</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S.Richardson_School_of_Law" title="William S. Richardson School of Law">University of Hawaii at Manoa</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Wasden" title="Lawrence Wasden">Lawrence Wasden</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho" title="Idaho">Idaho</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 6, 2003</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Idaho_College_of_Law" title="University of Idaho College of Law">University of Idaho, Moscow</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Madigan" title="Lisa Madigan">Lisa Madigan</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Attorney_General" title="Illinois Attorney General">Illinois</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 13, 2003</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyola_University_Chicago_School_of_Law" title="Loyola University Chicago School of Law">Loyola University Chicago</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Zoeller" title="Greg Zoeller">Greg Zoeller</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Attorney_General" title="Indiana Attorney General">Indiana</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 12, 2009</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_University_Maurer_School_of_Law" title="Indiana University Maurer School of Law">Indiana University, Bloomington</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Miller%28politician%29" title="Tom Miller (politician)">Tom Miller</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iowa_Attorneys_General" title="List of Iowa Attorneys General">Iowa</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 6, 1995</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Law_School" title="Harvard Law School">Harvard University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Schmidt" title="Derek Schmidt">Derek Schmidt</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_Attorney_General" title="Kansas Attorney General">Kansas</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 10, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_University_Law_Center" title="Georgetown University Law Center">Georgetown University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Beshear" title="Andy Beshear">Andy Beshear</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Kentucky" title="Attorney General of Kentucky">Kentucky</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 4, 2016</td><td>2020</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law" title="University of Virginia School of Law">University of Virginia</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Landry" title="Jeff Landry">Jeff Landry</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Attorneys_General_of_Louisiana" title="List of Attorneys General of Louisiana">Louisiana</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 11, 2016</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyola_University_New_Orleans_College_of_Law" title="Loyola University New Orleans College of Law">Loyola University, New Orleans</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_T.Mills" title="Janet T. Mills">Janet Mills</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Attorney_General" title="Maine Attorney General">Maine</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 7, 2011</td><td>Elected by the Legislature</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Maine_School_of_Law" title="University of Maine School of Law">University of Maine, Portland</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_E.Frosh" title="Brian E. Frosh">Brian Frosh</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Maryland" title="Attorney General of Maryland">Maryland</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 6, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Law_School" title="Columbia Law School">Columbia University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maura_Healey" title="Maura Healey">Maura Healey</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Attorney_General" title="Massachusetts Attorney General">Massachusetts</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 21, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_University_School_of_Law" title="Northeastern University School of Law">Northeastern University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Schuette" title="Bill Schuette">Bill Schuette</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Attorney_General" title="Michigan Attorney General">Michigan</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 1, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_San_Francisco_School_of_Law" title="University of San Francisco School of Law">University of San Francisco</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lori_Swanson" title="Lori Swanson">Lori Swanson</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Attorney_General" title="Minnesota Attorney General">Minnesota</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 2, 2007</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mitchell_College_of_Law" title="William Mitchell College of Law">William Mitchell College</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hood" title="Jim Hood">Jim Hood</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Attorney_General" title="Mississippi Attorney General">Mississippi</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 14, 2004</td><td>2015</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Mississippi_School_of_Law" title="University of Mississippi School of Law">University of Mississippi, Oxford</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Koster" title="Chris Koster">Chris Koster</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Attorney_General" title="Missouri Attorney General">Missouri</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 12, 2004</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Missouri_School_of_Law" title="University of Missouri School of Law">University of Missouri, Columbia</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Fox%28politician%29" title="Tim Fox (politician)">Tim Fox</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana" title="Montana">Montana</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 7, 2013</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Montana_School_of_Law" title="University of Montana School of Law" class="mw-redirect">University of Montana</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Peterson%28politician%29" title="Doug Peterson (politician)">Doug Peterson</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Attorney_General" title="Nebraska Attorney General">Nebraska</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 8, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepperdine_University_School_of_Law" title="Pepperdine University School of Law">Pepperdine University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Laxalt" title="Adam Laxalt">Adam Laxalt</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_Attorney_General" title="Nevada Attorney General">Nevada</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 5, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_University_Law_Center" title="Georgetown University Law Center">Georgetown University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Foster" title="Joseph Foster">Joseph Foster</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_Attorney_General" title="New Hampshire Attorney General">New Hampshire</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>May 15, 2013</td><td>2017 (Appointed by Governor)</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_University_Law_School" title="George Washington University Law School">George Washington University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay_Hoffman" title="John Jay Hoffman">John Hoffman</a> (Acting)</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Attorney_General" title="New Jersey Attorney General">New Jersey</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>June 10, 2013</td><td>Appointed by Governor</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_University_School_of_Law" title="Duke University School of Law">Duke University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Balderas" title="Hector Balderas">Hector Balderas</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_New_Mexico" title="Attorney General of New Mexico">New Mexico</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 1, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_New_Mexico_School_of_Law" title="University of New Mexico School of Law">University of New Mexico, Albuquerque</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Schneiderman" title="Eric Schneiderman">Eric Schneiderman</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Attorney_General" title="New York State Attorney General" class="mw-redirect">New York</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 6, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Law_School" title="Harvard Law School">Harvard University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Cooper" title="Roy Cooper">Roy Cooper</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Attorney_General" title="North Carolina Attorney General">North Carolina</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 1, 2001</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_North_Carolina_School_of_Law" title="University of North Carolina School of Law">University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Stenehjem" title="Wayne Stenehjem">Wayne Stenehjem</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota_Attorney_General" title="North Dakota Attorney General">North Dakota</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>December 15, 2000</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_North_Dakota_School_of_Law" title="University of North Dakota School of Law">University of North Dakota</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(253, 253, 127);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edward_Manibusan&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Edward Manibusan (page does not exist)">Edward Manibusan</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Mariana_Islands" title="Northern Mariana Islands">Northern Mariana Islands</a></td><td>Ind</td><td>January 13, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzaga_University_School_of_Law" title="Gonzaga University School of Law">Gonzaga University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_DeWine" title="Mike DeWine">Mike DeWine</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Attorney_General" title="Ohio Attorney General">Ohio</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 10, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_W.Pettit_College_of_Law" title="Claude W. Pettit College of Law">Ohio Northern University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pruitt" title="Scott Pruitt">Scott Pruitt</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Oklahoma" title="Attorney General of Oklahoma">Oklahoma</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 10, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Tulsa_College_of_Law" title="University of Tulsa College of Law">University of Tulsa</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Rosenblum" title="Ellen Rosenblum">Ellen Rosenblum</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Attorney_General" title="Oregon Attorney General">Oregon</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>June 29, 2012</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Oregon_School_of_Law" title="University of Oregon School of Law">University of Oregon</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Kane" title="Kathleen Kane">Kathleen Kane</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Attorney_General" title="Pennsylvania Attorney General">Pennsylvania</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 15, 2013</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_University_Beasley_School_of_Law" title="Temple University Beasley School of Law">Temple University</a></td></tr><tr bgcolor="#FFE8E8"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Miranda" title="César Miranda">César Miranda</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_Justice_of_Puerto_Rico" title="Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general#cite_note-5">[5]</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Democratic_Party%28Puerto_Rico%29" title="Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico)">PPD</a>/Dem</td><td>January 13, 2014</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutgers_School_of_Law%E2%80%93Camden" title="Rutgers School of Law–Camden">Rutgers University, Camden</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kilmartin" title="Peter Kilmartin">Peter Kilmartin</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Rhode_Island" title="Attorney General of Rhode Island">Rhode Island</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 4, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_University_School_of_Law" title="Roger Williams University School of Law">Roger Williams University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wilson%28South_Carolina_politician%29" title="Alan Wilson (South Carolina politician)">Alan Wilson</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina" title="South Carolina">South Carolina</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 12, 2011</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_South_Carolina_School_of_Law" title="University of South Carolina School of Law">University of South Carolina, Columbia</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Jackley" title="Marty Jackley">Marty Jackley</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota_Attorney_General" title="South Dakota Attorney General" class="mw-redirect">South Dakota</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>September 4, 2009</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_South_Dakota_School_of_Law" title="University of South Dakota School of Law">University of South Dakota</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Slatery" title="Herbert Slatery">Herbert Slatery</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Attorney_General" title="Tennessee Attorney General">Tennessee</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>October 1, 2014</td><td>2022 (appointed by TN Supreme Court)</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Tennessee_College_of_Law" title="University of Tennessee College of Law">University of Tennessee, Knoxville</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Paxton" title="Ken Paxton">Ken Paxton</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Attorney_General" title="Texas Attorney General">Texas</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 5, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law" title="University of Virginia School of Law">University of Virginia</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(253, 253, 127);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Claude_E.Walker&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Claude E. Walker (page does not exist)">Claude Walker</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Virgin_Islands" title="United States Virgin Islands">U.S. Virgin Islands</a></td><td>Ind</td><td>August 6, 2015</td><td>Appointed by Governor</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany_Law_School" title="Albany Law School">Albany Law School</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Reyes" title="Sean Reyes">Sean Reyes</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Attorney_General" title="Utah Attorney General">Utah</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>December 30, 2013</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UC_Berkeley_School_of_Law" title="UC Berkeley School of Law">University of California, Berkeley</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sorrell" title="William Sorrell">William Sorrell</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Attorney_General" title="Vermont Attorney General">Vermont</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>May 1, 1997</td><td>2017</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Law_School" title="Cornell Law School">Cornell University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Herring" title="Mark Herring">Mark Herring</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Virginia" title="Attorney General of Virginia">Virginia</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 11, 2014</td><td>2018</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Richmond_School_of_Law" title="University of Richmond School of Law">University of Richmond</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(176, 206, 255);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ferguson%28politician%29" title="Bob Ferguson (politician)">Bob Ferguson</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Attorney_Generals_of_Washington" title="List of Attorney Generals of Washington" class="mw-redirect">Washington</a></td><td>Dem</td><td>January 16, 2013</td><td>2016</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_University_School_of_Law" title="New York University School of Law">New York University</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Morrisey" title="Patrick Morrisey">Patrick Morrisey</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Attorneys_General_of_West_Virginia" title="List of Attorneys General of West Virginia">West Virginia</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 14, 2013</td><td>2016</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutgers_School_of_Law%E2%80%93Newark" title="Rutgers School of Law–Newark">Rutgers University, Newark</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Schimel" title="Brad Schimel">Brad Schimel</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Attorneys_General_of_Wisconsin" title="List of Attorneys General of Wisconsin">Wisconsin</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>January 5, 2015</td><td>2019</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Wisconsin_Law_School" title="University of Wisconsin Law School">University of Wisconsin, Madison</a></td></tr><tr style="background: rgb(255, 182, 182);"><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_K.Michael" title="Peter K. Michael">Peter Michael</a></td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_Attorney_General" title="Wyoming Attorney General">Wyoming</a></td><td>Rep</td><td>July 9, 2013</td><td>Appointed by Governor</td><td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Wyoming_College_of_Law" title="University of Wyoming College of Law">University of Wyoming</a></td></tr></tbody><tfoot /></table><h2>See</h2>
<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="295" data-total-count="4545" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-6" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 135px; line-height: 1.4375rem; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">...Private lawyers also have written drafts of legal filings that attorneys general have used almost verbatim. In some cases, they have become an adjunct to the office by providing much of the legal work, including bearing the cost of litigation, in exchange for up to 20 percent of any settlement.Money gathered through events like the one in February 2013 at the Loews hotel is flooding the political campaigns of attorneys general and flowing to party organizations that can take unlimited corporate contributions and then funnel money to individual candidates. The Republican Attorneys General Association alone has pulled in <a href="http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/tr/tr_MG_527_Filer.aspx?&sEIN=464501717&sCycle=2014">$11.7 million</a> since January.It is a self-perpetuating network that includes a group of former attorneys general called SAGE, or the Society of Attorneys General Emeritus, most of whom are now <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/28/us/5-Rhode-Island-Attorney-General-Turned-Attorney-General-Lobbyist.html">on retainer</a> to corporate clients.Giant energy producers and service companies like Devon Energy of Oklahoma, the Southern Company of Georgia and TransCanada have retained their own teams of attorney general specialists, including Andrew P. Miller, a former attorney general of Virginia.For some companies, the reward seems apparent, according to the documents obtained by The Times. In Georgia, the attorney general, after receiving a request from a former attorney general who had become a lobbyist, disregarded written advice from the state’s environmental regulators, the emails show. In Utah, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/28/us/politics/7-Utah-Attorney-General-and-Bank-of-America.html">the attorney general dismissed a case</a>pending against Bank of America over the objections of his staff after secretly meeting with a former attorney general working as a Bank of America lobbyist.<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/28/us/politics/7-Utah-Attorney-General-and-Bank-of-America.html">That Bank of America case</a> was cited in July when the two most recent former attorneys general in Utah <a title="Two Former Utah Officials Arrested" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/us/politics/two-former-attorneys-general-in-utah-are-charged-with-corruption.html">were charged</a> with granting official favors to donors in exchange for golf getaways, rides on private planes and a luxury houseboat.While the Utah case is extreme, some participants say even the daily lobbying can corrode public trust....http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.htmlabbot pruitt epa clean air plan1st time majority gop, backroom deals12/14 lipton:<h1 itemprop="headline" id="story-heading" class="story-heading" style="line-height: 2.375rem; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General</h1>The letter to the Environmental Protection Agency from Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma carried a blunt accusation: Federal regulators were grossly overestimating the amount of air pollution caused by energy companies drilling new natural gas wells in his state.But Mr. Pruitt left out one critical point. The three-page letter was written by lawyers for Devon Energy, one of Oklahoma’s biggest oil and gas companies, and was delivered to him by Devon’s chief of lobbying.“Outstanding!” William F. Whitsitt, who at the time directed government relations at the company, said in a note to Mr. Pruitt’s office. The attorney general’s staff had taken Devon’s draft, copied it onto state government stationery with only a few word changes, and sent it to Washington with the attorney general’s signature. “The timing of the letter is great, given our meeting this Friday with both E.P.A. and the White House.”Mr. Whitsitt then added, “Please pass along Devon’s thanks to Attorney General Pruitt.”
Courting FavorArticles in this series examine the explosion in lobbying of state attorneys general by corporate interests and the millions in campaign donations they now provide.The email exchange from October 2011, obtained through an open-records request, offers a hint of the unprecedented, secretive alliance that Mr. Pruitt and other Republican attorneys general have formed with some of the nation’s top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda, an investigation by The New York Times has found.Attorneys general in at least a dozen states are working with energy companies and other corporate interests, which in turn are providing them with record amounts of money for their political campaigns, including at least $16 million this year.They share a common philosophy about the reach of the federal government, but the companies also have billions of dollars at stake. And the collaboration is likely to grow: For the first time in modern American history, Republicans in January will control a majority — 27 — of attorneys general’s offices.The Times reported previously how individual attorneys general have shut down investigations, changed policies or agreed to more corporate-friendly settlement terms after intervention by lobbyists and lawyers, many of whom are also campaign benefactors.But the attorneys general are also working collectively. Democrats for more than a decade have teamed up with environmental groups such as the Sierra Club to use the court system to impose stricter regulation. But never before have attorneys general joined on this scale with corporate interests to challenge Washington and file lawsuits in federal court.Out of public view, corporate representatives and attorneys general are coordinating legal strategy and other efforts to fight federal regulations, according to a review of thousands of emails and court documents and dozens of interviews.“When you use a public office, pretty shamelessly, to vouch for a private party with substantial financial interest without the disclosure of the true authorship, that is a dangerous practice,” said David B. Frohnmayer, a Republican who served a decade as attorney general in Oregon. “The puppeteer behind the stage is pulling strings, and you can’t see. I don’t like that. And when it is exposed, it makes you feel used.”For Mr. Pruitt, the benefits have been clear. Lobbyists and company officials have been notably solicitous, helping him raise his profile as president for two years of the Republican Attorneys General Association, a post he used to help start what he and allies called the Rule of Law campaign, which was intended to push back against Washington.That campaign, in which attorneys general band together to operate like a large national law firm, has been used to back lawsuits and other challenges against the Obama administration on environmental issues, the Affordable Care Act and securities regulation. The most recent target is the president’s executive action on immigration.“We are living in the midst of a constitutional crisis,” Mr. Pruitt told energy industry lobbyists and conservative state legislators at a conference in Dallas in July, after being welcomed with a standing ovation. “The trajectory of our nation is at risk and at stake as we respond to what is going on.”
DOCUMENTA Window Into a Secret Alliance: Attorneys General and the Energy IndustryThe New York Times submitted open-records requests for correspondence between certain energy industry executives and attorneys general who are helping lead an effort they call the Rule of Law campaign to combat Obama administration regulations. Thousands of pages of correspondence emerged. Here is a sampling of the documents, showing how the regulated industries and their lobbyists have secretly worked with the attorneys general to combat Washington.
 OPEN DOCUMENTMr. Pruitt has responded aggressively, and with a lot of helping hands. Energy industry lobbyists drafted letters for him to send to the E.P.A., the Interior Department, the Office of Management and Budget and even President Obama, The Times found.Industries that he regulates have also joined him as plaintiffs in court challenges, a departure from the usual role of the state attorney general, who traditionally sues companies to force compliance with state law.Energy industry lobbyists have also distributed draft legislation to attorneys general and asked them to help push it through state legislatures to give the attorneys general clearer authority to challenge the Obama regulatory agenda, the documents show.“It is quite new,” said Paul Nolette, a political-science professor at Marquette University and the author of the forthcoming book “Federalism on Trial: State Attorneys General and National Policy Making in Contemporary America.” “The scope, size and tenor of these collaborations is, without question, unprecedented.”And it is an emerging practice that several former attorneys general say threatens the integrity of the office.“It is a magnificent and noble institution, the office of attorney general, as it is truly the lawyer for the people,” said Terry Goddard, a Democrat who served two terms as Arizona’s attorney general and who, like Mr. Frohnmayer, reviewed copies of the documents collected by The Times. “That independence is clearly at risk here. What is happening diminishes the reputation of individual attorneys general and the community as a group.”Mr. Pruitt, who has emerged as a hero to conservative activists, dismissed this criticism as misinformed.“Those kinds of questions arise from the environment we are in — a very dysfunctional, distrustful political environment,” Mr. Pruitt said in an interview. “I can say to you that is not who we are or have ever been, and despite those criticisms we sit around and make decisions about what is right, and what represents adherence to the rule of law, and we seek to advance that and try to do the best we can to educate people about our viewpoint.”In a state dominated by the energy industry, Mr. Pruitt’s stands have been widely popular. “Attorney General Pruitt has been a champion for our state,” said State Senator Mike Schulz, a Republican who is the majority floor leader. “The State of Oklahoma is in a better position than the E.P.A. to regulate drilling.”
But Mr. Pruitt’s ties with industry are clear. One of his closest partners has been Harold G. Hamm, the billionaire chief executive of Continental Resources, which is among the biggest oil and gas drilling companies in both Oklahoma and North Dakota.
GRAPHICA Letter From Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Written Almost Entirely by Energy Company OfficialsDevon Energy’s lawyers and lobbyists drafted letters and provided them to Attorney General Scott Pruitt to send to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior Department and even President Obama directly. Most of those letters were signed by Mr. Pruitt and sent with few changes. Here is one example, obtained through open-records requests.
 OPEN GRAPHICThis year, Mr. Pruitt joined with a group aligned with Mr. Hamm to sue the Interior Department over its plan to consider adding animals such as the lesser prairie chicken to the endangered species list, a move that Mr. Hamm has said could knock out “some of the most promising land for oil and gas leases in the country.” The suit was filed after Mr. Hamm announced that he would serve as the chairman of Mr. Pruitt’s re-election campaign.
“Time and time again, General Pruitt has stood up and bravely fought for the rights of Oklahomans in those instances when the federal government has overextended its hand,” Mr. Hamm said as his role in Mr. Pruitt’s re-election effort was announced.
A Potent AllyEnergy industry executives and lobbyists from across the United States saw great potential in Mr. Pruitt, a gifted politician who had been a state legislator and a minor-league baseball team co-owner and executive before running for attorney general.Among them was Andrew P. Miller, a patrician 81-year-old former Virginia attorney general. Mr. Miller is a regular at gatherings of state attorneys general at resort destinations, and his client list includes TransCanada, the backer of the Keystone XL pipeline; the Southern Company, the Georgia-based electric utility, which has a large number of coal-burning power plants; and the investor group behind the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska.
For the energy industry, Mr. Pruitt was an easy choice.
“There’s a mentality emanating from Washington today that says, ‘We know best,’ ” Mr. Pruitt said during his 2010 campaign. “It’s a one-size-fits-all strategy, a command-and-control kind of approach, and we’ve got to make sure we know how to respond to that.”
Among Mr. Pruitt’s first acts was to create a “federalism office,” which challenged the Obama administration’s plan to reduce haze in southwestern Oklahoma by requiring coal-burning electricity plants in the state to install new pollution control equipment.
His interaction with the industry, Mr. Pruitt said during an interview at his Oklahoma City office, has been motivated by a desire to gather information from experts, while defending his state’s longstanding tradition of self-determination.That ethos, he said, is depicted in a large oil painting in his office that shows local authorities with rifles at the ready confronting outsiders during the land rush era. “The founders recognized that power concentrated in a few is a bad thing,” Mr. Pruitt said.More of Nation’s Attorneys General Are RepublicanAided by record fund-raising by the Republican Attorneys General Association, Republicans, for the first time in modern history, will control a majority of state attorney general posts in 2015.Party of incoming attorneys general by state, 2015Money raised by attorney general associationsNumber of attorneys general by partyCHARTSources: Republican and Democratic Attorneys General Associations (fund-raising numbers); Paul Nolette, department of political science, Marquette University (attorneys general by party and state)By Alicia Parlapiano
Mr. Miller made it his job to promote Mr. Pruitt nationally, both as a spokesman for the Rule of Law campaign and as the president of the Republican Attorneys General Association.“I regard the general as the A.G. best suited to take this lead on this question of federalism,” Mr. Miller wrote to Mr. Pruitt’s chief of staff in April 2012. “The touchstone of this initiative would be to organize the states to resist federal ‘overreach’ whenever it occurs.”To Mr. Miller, having Mr. Pruitt as an advocate fit a broader strategy. He wanted state attorneys general to band together the way they did when they challenged the health care law in 2010. In that effort, they hired a major national corporate law firm, Baker Hostetler, to argue the case, with much of the bill being paid through donations from executives at corporations that oppose the law.In his initial appeal to Mr. Pruitt, Mr. Miller insisted that his approach was not “client driven.” But he soon began to name individual clients — TransCanada and Pebble Mine in Alaska — that he wanted to include in the effort. The E.P.A. has held up the Pebble Mine project, which could potentially yield 80 billion pounds of copper, after concluding it would “threaten one of the world’s most productive salmon fisheries.”“This strike force ought to take the form of a national state litigation team to challenge the E.P.A.’s overreach,” Mr. Miller said in an email to Mr. Pruitt’s office. “Like the Dalmatian at the proverbial firehouse, it could move out smartly when the alarm sounded.”
A Call to ArmsMr. Miller’s pitch to Mr. Pruitt became a reality early last year at the historic Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma City, where he brought together an extraordinary assembly of energy industry power brokers and attorneys general from nine states for what he called the Summit on Federalism and the Future of Fossil Fuels.The meeting took place in the shadow of office towers that dominate Oklahoma City’s skyline and are home to Continental Resources, a leader in the nation’s fastest-growing oil field, the Bakken formation of North Dakota, as well as Devon Energy, which drilled 1,275 new wells last year.More liberal attorneys general, such as Douglas F. Gansler, Democrat of Maryland, did not participate.“Indeed, General Gansler would in all likelihood try to hijack your summit,” Mr. Miller wrote to Mr. Pruitt in an email. “At best you would be left to preside over a debate, rather than a call to arms.”
Top Individual Recipients of Energy Industry Money Since 2004Many attorneys general collect contributions directly from energy industry donors, in addition to money passed on from party associations. Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma, for example, has received at least $215,574 from companies and industry employees since 2010, even though he ran unopposed in his most recent election.
Attorney generals highlighted in graywill be in office in 2015ATTORNEYGENERALELECTIONYEARSPARTYSTATECONTRIBUTIONSGreg AbbottRTex.$2,459,2042006, 2010Tom CorbettRPa.577,1922004, 2008Ken PaxtonRTex.488,4112014RMike DeWineOhio321,0332010, 2014Luther StrangeAla.279,200R2010, 2014Gary K. KingDN.M.228,0182006, 2010Scott PruittROkla.215,5742010, 2014Chris KosterDMo.202,4192008, 2012Bill SchuetteRMich.190,5162010, 2014RKenneth T.Cuccinelli IIVa.174,6382009Notes: 2014 data is incomplete. Scott Pruitt was unopposed in 2014.Source: National Institute on Money in State Politics (energy industry contributions)By Alicia ParlapianoOklahoma energy companies were there, according to an agenda, joined by executives from Peabody Energy of Missouri, the world’s largest private-sector coal producer, as well as the Southern Company, which has aggressively challenged federal air pollution mandates.The nation’s top corporate energy regulatory lawyers were there, too, including F. William Brownell, a senior partner at the law firm Hunton & Williams, which has spent more than 25 years fighting the enforcement of the Clean Air Act.The event was organized by an energy-industry-funded law and economics center at George Mason University of Virginia. The center is part of the brain trust of conservative, pro-industry groups that have worked from the sidelines to help Mr. Pruitt and other attorneys general.And there was nothing ambiguous about the agenda.“Suggested Responses to Assaults on Federalism” was the topic of one breakfast meeting, moderated by Attorney General Wayne K. Stenehjem of North Dakota, that showcased Mr. Brownell and three other top corporate regulatory lawyers. Mr. Hamm was the featured dinner speaker.“We need to ensure the robust role of the states,” said Paul M. Seby, another coal industry lawyer who attended. “And as the chief law enforcement officers, it is not surprising this is becoming a cornerstone of attorney generals’ attention.”Attorneys general said they had no choice but to team up with corporate America. “When the federal government oversteps its legal authority and takes actions that hurt our businesses and residents, it’s entirely appropriate for us to partner with the adversely affected private entities in fighting back,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi of Florida, whose top deputy attended the meeting.
A ‘Strike Force’The impact of the gathering was immediate. A week later, a new Federalism in Environmental Policy task force was established by lawyers in the offices of 19 state attorneys general, according to email records obtained from the office of Attorney General Timothy C. Fox of Montana, who had participated in the Oklahoma meeting.“This message is in follow-up to the excellent environmental conference put on last week by George Mason University and hosted by the Oklahoma attorney general’s office,” said one email sent by Katie Spohn, the deputy attorney general in Nebraska. “In order to continue our coordination of efforts regarding Federalism in Environmental Policy, I am seeking input from each state who participated in the conference.”PATRICK MORRISEY The West Virginia attorney general got a draft bill from a coal industry lawyer. Mr. Miller was pleased. “Just the kind of strike force I was talking about,” he said in an interview.And the input poured forth. The states worked to detail major federal environmental action, like efforts to curb fish kills, reduce ozone pollution, slow climate change and tighten regulation of coal ash. Then they identified which attorney general’s office was best positioned to try to monitor it and, if necessary, attempt to block it.Follow-up by Mr. Pruitt’s federalism office often came after coordination with industry representatives, especially from Devon Energy. The company, one of the most important financial supporters for the Republican Attorneys General Association, is guarded about its public profile. But it readily turned to Mr. Pruitt and his staff for help, setting up meetings for the attorney general with its chief executive, its chief lobbyist and other important players.“We have a clear obligation to our shareholders and others to be involved in these discussions,” John Porretto, a Devon spokesman, said in a statement.
While some of the exchanges were general in character, others were quite explicit, especially the communication about the E.P.A.’s methane regulations that had prompted Mr. Whitsitt, the Devon official, to propose that Mr. Pruitt send a letter to the agency.
“Just a note to pass along the electronic version of the draft letter to Lisa Jackson at E.P.A.,” said one September 2011 letter to Mr. Pruitt’s chief of staff from Mr. Whitsitt. “We have no pride of authorship, so whatever you do on this is fine.”
Mr. Pruitt took the letter and, after changing just 37 words in the 1,016-word draft, copied it onto his state government letterhead and sent it to Ms. Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator.
That was just one of his challenges to Washington. Devon officials also turned to Mr. Pruitt to enlist other Republican attorneys general and Republican governors to oppose a rule proposed by the Bureau of Land Management that would regulate hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on federal land.“As promised, we are sending you the attached draft of the R.G.A./RAGA follow-up letter to President Obama opposing B.L.M.’s proposed rule,” Brent Rockwood, Devon’s director of government affairs, wrote to Mr. Pruitt’s staff in late 2012, in an email marked “confidential.”
Weeks later, that letter was sent to Mr. Obama without only a few word changes, signed by Mr. Pruitt and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, who was the head of the Republican Governors Association at the time.
ANDREW P. MILLER A version of the lobbyist’s bill was approved by the West Virginia Legislature. Company officials again expressed their pleasure to Mr. Pruitt.
“I’ve learned that we’re having an effect — and may be able to have more, perhaps even to having the rule withdrawn or shifted to almost a reporting-only one,” Mr. Whitsitt wrote, in another email marked “confidential.”
The rule — which the industry claims would cost $346 million a year to comply with — has still not been issued.
Coordination between the corporations and teams of attorneys general involved in the Rule of Law effort also involves actual litigation to try to clear roadblocks to energy projects, documents show.
Energy producers, for instance, wanted to sue the Interior Department as it considered adding animals such as the sage grouse — which nests near sites of oil and gas drilling — to a list of endangered species, a move that could put tens of thousands of acres off limits to new drilling.
The energy companies could have sued on their own, but their executives believed that the case would be more potent by bringing in Mr. Pruitt and the weight of the State of Oklahoma.
“We just came to the conclusion he would be the best person to be the lead attorney on this,” said Mike McDonald, an owner of Triad Energy, a small oil and gas exploration company, and the president of a group that calls itself the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance. “He has exceeded our expectations.”For the industry, the state is an extremely valued partner because states are granted “special solicitude” from the federal courts, a critical advantage to private companies that helps confer legal standing and means that a matter is less likely to be dismissed.Mr. Pruitt’s office, in a statement to The Times, rejected any suggestion that the attorney general has been wrong to send to Washington comment letters written by industry lobbyists, or to take up their side in litigation.“The A.G.’s office seeks input from the energy industry to determine real-life harm stemming from proposed federal regulations or actions,” the statement said. “It is the content of the request not the source of the request that is relevant.”
HAROLD G. HAMM The oil drilling executive was the chairman of Mr. Pruitt’s re-election campaign.Persuading lawmakers to offer legislation has been another effective lobbying tool. In West Virginia, Mr. Miller handed Attorney General Patrick Morrisey a draft of legislation that he argued would put West Virginia in a better position to sue the Obama administration over proposed regulations to tighten pollution controls on power plants, emails show.“I trust you will find the legislation acceptable in its present form,” Mr. Miller wrote to Mr. Morrisey in February, referring to a private meeting the two had had in the law library of Mr. Morrisey’s office in Charleston. “If so, I would appreciate your having it introduced by your friends in both the Senate and the House.”A version of the bill was introduced and passed by the West Virginia Legislature in March. Delegate Rupert Phillips Jr., the chief sponsor of a second bill that also contained language identical to what Mr. Miller had requested, said in an interview that he had acted with Mr. Morrisey’s support, an account supported by William B. Raney, the president of the West Virginia Coal Association.“It is nice to have everybody singing from the same sheet of music,” Mr. Raney said.A spokesman for Mr. Morrisey disputed this account, saying that while he supported the effort to challenge the rule, he did not play a role in promoting the legislation.
Blurred LinesThe work in Mr. Pruitt’s office has sometimes seemed to blur the distinction between his official duties and the advancement of his political career.Mr. Pruitt’s chief of staff, Crystal Drwenski, served as gatekeeper to his office, arranging meetings and helping companies get Mr. Pruitt and his staff to intervene with the federal authorities. But Ms. Drwenski also played an important supplemental role for the attorney general: fund-raising aide.“A.G. Pruitt is working with the Republican Attorneys General Association on their national meeting in Washington,” Ms. Drwenski wrote to Mr. Whitsitt. “The benefit of membership and participation is having 25 Republican A.G.s in a room to discuss policy issues.”Ms. Drwenski wanted Devon Energy’s help in enlisting the American Petroleum Institute, and Mr. Whitsitt agreed.“I’ve put in a plug to A.P.I.,” Mr. Whitsitt wrote back to Ms. Drwenski, a few hours after her request, having reached out to the organization’s senior lobbyist, Marty Durbin. “He is expecting a call.”In addition to the American Petroleum Institute, major energy companies — ConocoPhillips, the oil and gas company; Alpha Natural Resources, a coal mining giant; and American Electric Power, the nation’s biggest coal consumer — have recently joined the Republican Attorneys General Association, bringing in hundreds of thousands of additional dollars to the group, internal documents show.By last year, the association was starting to pull in so much money under Mr. Pruitt’s leadership that it decided to break free from its partnership with the Republican State Leadership Committee, a group that represents state elected officials. Within months, the association also set up the Rule of Law Defense Fund, yet another legal entity that allows companies benefiting from the actions of Mr. Pruitt and other Republican attorneys general to make anonymous donations, in unlimited amounts. Fund-raising skyrocketed.The $16 million that the association has collected this year is nearly four times the amount it collected in 2010, money it used mostly to buy millions of dollars’ worth of television advertisements in states like Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Nevada, all places where Republican candidates for attorney general won election.The fund-raising has taken place on the state level as well. Oklahoma Gas & Electric — a for-profit utility that Mr. Pruitt joined with in federal court to fight the E.P.A. — invited its employees to the Petroleum Club in downtown Oklahoma City late last year for a fund-raising event for Mr. Pruitt, drawing donations from about 45 company employees, including the chief executive. Four days later, Mr. Pruitt filed a new appeal in the case — timing that the utility said was a coincidence.While Mr. Pruitt’s efforts to raise money for the Republican Attorneys General Association have been an unqualified success, the lawsuits and regulatory appeals he has filed have yielded mixed results.In May, the Supreme Court declined to take up the appeal on the Oklahoma Gas & Electric matter, meaning the company is now moving ahead on retrofitting its coal-burning plants. But other lawsuits are pending, including Mr. Pruitt’s challenge of the Dodd-Frank law, which rewrote the nation’s financial regulations, and, perhaps most important, his challenge of the tax subsidies that are a critical part of the Obama administration’s health care law.Mr. Pruitt’s staff has juggled various duties — helping major corporations push their challenges against Washington, and then turning to these same executives, at times, to ask them for financial support.For example, Ms. Drwenski, who is no longer Mr. Pruitt’s chief of staff, asked Devon Energy in 2012, on a workday afternoon, for help in signing up the American Petroleum Institute as a member of the Republican Attorneys General Association.She used her personal email account to send out the initial request. But the subsequent exchange took place on her work email account, even though Oklahoma state law prohibits state officials from using state property or time to solicit political contributions. A spokesman for Mr. Pruitt said, “It is entirely possible she could have been taking a late lunch.”Mr. Pruitt, who ran unopposed to win a second term, has not needed much of the money himself, but his fund-raising efforts have greatly benefited other Republicans running for the job.That explains the partylike atmosphere late last month in South Florida, where members of the Republican Attorneys General Association held their fall meeting at the chic Fontainebleau Miami Beach, along with hundreds of lobbyists, lawyers and corporate executives, whose companies had paid as much as $125,000 for the privilege to celebrate with them.During the opening reception, on a giant terrace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, with red, white and blue lights beaming onto the walls and rock music blasting, the Republican attorneys general strode to the stage to trumpet their new majority in the states.Mr. Pruitt was there for the weekend’s festivities, an event at which Devon Energy served as a corporate host, with banners hung in the hotel hallways featuring the corporate logo.The Oklahoma attorney general’s stay was brief. The Rule of Law campaign had a new and urgent target.“Our president sees himself as above the law,” Mr. Pruitt said from Oklahoma City as he announced several days later yet another front in the campaign, a lawsuit he planned to file to challenge the Obama administration’s new immigration policies. “We will take action to hold him accountable.
Correction: December 14, 2014 A picture credit last Sunday with the continuation of an article about Republican attorneys general in several states who have formed a secretive alliance with some of the nation’s top energy producers to oppose President Obama’s regulatory agenda misidentified the photographer in some editions. The picture, of Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general, was taken by Dylan Hollingsworth, not by Nick Oxfordfrom JCN 3/153/15http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/03/the-jcn-story-building-a-secretive-gop-judicial-machine<section class="content article-main-content" style="line-height: 24px;"><section class="content-body article-body-content"> was a cold winter night in Washington, D.C., not long after President George W. Bush won a second term, and the mood at the upscale Italian restaurant was downright celebratory.The most prominent guest was Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but his table also boasted a mix of high-powered conservatives, including some deep-pocketed donors. Among the elite were Federalist Society executive Leonard Leo, fundraiser and lawyer Ann Corkery, and California real estate magnate Robin Arkley II. “The big prize was to sit next to Scalia,” quipped one attendee at the soiree, adding that Arkley was one such lucky winner.As it happened, the bash coincided with the birth of a new judicial advocacy outfit that Corkery was instrumental in launching, and Arkley in funding, according to conservative sources familiar with the events. The Judicial Confirmation Network (JCN), set up as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” group that doesn’t disclose its donors, would prove to be a crucial player in drumming up support for Bush Supreme Court nominees John Roberts Jr. and Samuel Alito Jr. — eventual allies for Scalia on the Court’s right flank.In the years since, JCN’s modus operandi and battlegrounds have shifted — particularly since Barack Obama won the White House, which prompted the group to sound the alarm and change its name to the Judicial Crisis Network. In the ensuing years, not only has it fought to block Obama’s nominees to the high court, but it has spent millions to sway state judicial elections and attorneys general races, helping to uphold state laws backed by conservatives, nurture like-minded talent in the states, and advance pro-business, limited-government legal agendas aligned with its donors’ leanings.To expand its influence in state elections, JCN has emerged as a pipeline for secret money to other, better-known dark money groups like the Wisconsin Club for Growth and the American Future Fund which, in turn, have spent big bucks in state Supreme Court and AG races.JCN heightened its focus on AG races last year when it pumped $1 million in secret money into the Republican Attorneys General Association, making it the third-biggest contributor to RAGA and helping the GOP pick up three new slots so that it now controls the majority of state AG posts.  JCN’s pivotal part in the surge of spending on court elections has received scant attention. But in 2012, <a href="http://www.mcfn.org/pdfs/reports/MCFN_2012_Cit_Guide_final_rev..pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">it dished out more than $2 million</a> in court races in Michigan alone — half of that in a single down-ticket state circuit contest, according to the <a href="http://www.mcfn.org/pdfs/reports/MCFN_2012_Cit_Guide_final_rev..pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Michigan Campaign Finance Network</a>. And over the last two years, the organization contributed a minimum of about $2 million to groups that were involved in 2014 state judicial elections and efforts to influence how judges are chosen. Recipients of JCN checks included the many-tentacled Republican State Leadership Committee, which for the first time invested in court races around the country, spending more on them than any other outside group.More broadly, in the last election cycle TV ad spending in state Supreme Court elections jumped to <a href="http://www.justiceatstake.org/newsroom/press-releases-16824/?tv_ad_spending_reaches_nearly_14_million_in_2014_state_supreme_court_races&show=news&newsID=19337" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">at least $13.8 million</a>, according to a preliminary tally by the nonprofit Justice at Stake Campaign. Outside groups, both conservative and liberal, accounted for an estimated $4.9 million of that, or more than 35 percent — a greater share than ever before.The sharp rise in judicial election spending by JCN and other groups on both sides of the political aisle troubles some judicial candidates who have been targeted. “To the extent that judicial campaigns start looking like other campaigns, there’s a risk that judges will be perceived as having a political agenda,” Sam Ervin IV, a North Carolina Supreme Court justice, told The Daily Beast. Ervin, who was elected  in 2014 and is the grandson of the celebrated senator who led Congress’s investigation of the Watergate scandal, lost an earlier race in 2012 after a spending blitz by several outside groups totaling almost $2.6 million, much of it dark money including $75,000 from JCN. “The public is better served, in an environment where judges are elected, if they know the source of the funding for those campaigns,” Ervin, a Democrat, added.To fill its own coffers, JCN has increasingly relied on funding — to the tune of nearly $4 million, according to IRS documents — from another non-disclosing group, the Wellspring Committee, that’s run by Corkery and was founded seven years ago with the help of conservative donors in the network led by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. Corkery’s entree to that rarefied network came via JCN supporter Arkley, an early attendee of their famed retreats. And Ann Corkery and her husband, Neil — who is JCN’s treasurer — are central figures in a cluster of other nonprofits, IRS filings show.A fast riseJCN’s early niche entailed working in tandem with a well-organized conservative coalition — in which Leo, the Federalist Society’s executive vice president, was a key player — to ensure that Roberts and Alito won Senate confirmation. To that end, JCN spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2005 and January 2006 on radio and online ads, as well as on grassroots efforts, to shape public opinion. One example: The group ran a radio ad blitz in late 2005 in Arkansas, where the two Democratic senators’ votes were considered in play, using Christmas themes and an appeal from a black minister.Well-connected consultants helped JCN get things up and running. One was Gary Marx, a rising social conservative star who Corkery recruited to became the group’s executive director, according to a well-placed source.Another was New York lawyer Wendy Long, a former clerk for Clarence Thomas. She left the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and signed on as counsel to JCN, becoming the organization’s face on cable news and buttressing its legal bona fides.But mostly, JCN’s early rise was attributable to Corkery’s ability to rope in a few big donors. “Ann is very good at cultivating relationships and capitalizing on them,” a conservative source observed.</section>Robin Arkley, the president and CEO of Security National Corp. who had tapped Corkery to be his political liaison and senior advisor, became a key underwriter of JCN’s operations, to the tune of the high six or low seven figures, sources say.The pair went to some of the early fundraising and policy retreats held by the Kochs — events that now draw a glittering cast of wealthy allies and conservative stars to raise millions for the brothers’ network of politically active groups. Arkley was also a financial backer of the Federalist Society. “Arkley helped put Ann in play” as a liaison to funding for advocacy groups on the right, said one conservative.Corkery had a breakthrough year in 2008. Koch operatives gave her the reins to their fledgling <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/11/wellsprings-flow/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wellspring Committee</a>, a dark money conduit that began pumping funds to other dark money Koch-backed groups like Americans for Prosperity. At the same time, Corkery served as a finance vice chair for Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign.Though Corkery’s most direct Koch ties frayed after the ’08 elections and Arkley’s wallet took a hit in the financial crisis, according to sources and reports, Corkery mined other big donors she’d been courting for Wellspring, such as John Templeton Jr., a Pennsylvania philanthropist, and New York hedge fund mogul Paul Singer, conservative sources said.Conservative and business groups had been pouring money into state court elections through the early 2000s in order to produce a friendlier legal climate — one that curbed tort liability for corporations, for example. Smart marketing and intellectual heft provided by Leo’s Federalist Society helped them notch significant gains. From 2000 to 2009, business and conservative groups spent more than twice as much on state court elections as plaintiffs’ lawyers, unions, and liberal groups — <a href="http://www.justiceatstake.org/media/cms/JASNPJEDecadeONLINE_8E7FD3FEB83E3.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">$26.3 million to $11.9 million</a>, according to Justice at Stake. 
</section><section class="content article-main-content" style="line-height: 24px;">Wellspring, followed quickly by JCN, became big players in directly and indirectly funding state Supreme Court races. In 2008, for example, Wellspring funneled $200,000 to a group that produced the negative attack ads that helped a conservative eke out a victory over a sitting Supreme Court justice in Wisconsin, tipping control of the bench to the right. In 2009, Wellspring grants went to groups trying to change judicial selection methods in Missouri and Tennessee.In 2010, Wellspring began sending money directly to JCN, giving it and a related organization, the Judicial Education Project, $400,000; an additional $306,000 came in 2011, then $1.5 million in 2012 and $1.4 million the next year. Big grants also went to other organizations playing in judicial politics — including $400,000 in 2011 for Wisconsin Club for Growth, a major actor in that state’s shift to a conservative Supreme Court majority.Wisconsin Club for Growth was also aided by JCN to the tune of more than half-a-million dollars from mid-2012 to mid-2013 as JCN began to function as a dark money conduit like Wellspring. The Wisconsin group spent close to $400,000 to help win a second 10-year term for Justice Patience Roggensack.Conservative control of the Wisconsin court, enabled in no small part by the big pots of dark money dumped into the state, has proved vital to the rejection of challenges to two signature conservative policies championed by GOP Gov. Scott Walker: his initiatives to curb public sector unions and to require voter IDs. (The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge to the voter ID law, so it will stand.)And an investigation into whether Walker illegally coordinated efforts with several groups — including Wisconsin Club for Growth — in the run-up to his 2012 recall vote now depends on a ruling by the state’s justices. The special prosecutor leading the probe <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/john-doe-prosecutor-asks-one-or-more-justice-to-step-aside-b99444515z1-291866271.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">has asked at least one</a> — perhaps all four — of the court’s conservatives to recuse themselves because of support they have gotten from the groups. (Given recent history and the state’s <a href="http://www.wisciviljusticecouncil.org/policy-project/legislative-report-special-legislative-committee-studies-judicial-discipline-and-recusal/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">weak judicial conduct rules</a>, court observers say that seems unlikely.) The lower court money bombWhile turning, and keeping, the Wisconsin court conservative was a high priority for JCN and others on the right, the group didn’t spend much cash there directly. But the opposite was true in neighboring Michigan, where JCN laid out more than $2 million on two 2012 court races. About half the money went to an effort to keep law professor Bridget McCormack from sitting on the state Supreme Court, including a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6twOgKpiXbs" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">last-minute ad</a> accusing McCormack of volunteering to represent terrorists, featuring the mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan. (McCormack did volunteer one of her law school clinics to represent a Guantanamo detainee, though he was released before the students communicated with him.)The other $1 million, though, was spent attempting to kick an Oakland County Circuit Court judge off the bench — and JCN’s spending in that race was matched by <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib_rcpt.php?id=522062978&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Americans for Job Security</a>, which had earlier benefited from Wellspring largesse.Such staggering spending on a lower court contest may be unprecedented, and it was far from clear why the groups were interested. One possible explanation: a funder with an ax to grind.Who that was may never be known. But “pretty much everyone believed” it to be Manoj Bhargava or a person or entity linked to him, said a Michigan lawyer who had a ringside seat at the time; other attorneys and journalists in the state told The Daily Beast the same thing.The Indian-born Bhargava, who invented the now-ubiquitous 5-Hour Energy shot, might be seen by some as a walking contradiction. On the one had, he lived as a monk in India for years and has taken a <a href="http://givingpledge.org/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">pledge to give</a> more than half his wealth to charity. But he’s also a fierce competitor who, according to a profile in Forbes, displays in his office <a href="http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">cardboard tombstones</a> bearing the names of rivals his company has beaten in court.A 2012 case before Circuit Judge Phyllis McMillen may shed light on the origins of the campaign against her. Bhargava, through 5-Hour’s parent company Innovation Ventures, was suing a key 5-Hour contractor for allegedly stealing trade secrets. At first McMillen issued a temporary restraining order against the contractor. As facts emerged, though, she lifted the TRO. To allow Innovation Ventures to “crush competitors” unfairly, she said in court February 10, “is certainly not something that’s supported by public policy.”McMillen was running for her first full term in 2012. That spring, soon after she lifted the TRO, she and her colleagues who were also on the ballot learned they had opposition: a couple of lawyers from Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office. Three non-Michiganders had provided the seed money for their candidacies: Andrew McKenna of Virginia, a fundraising consultant with ties to Bhargava, according to a well-placed source; John Templeton, one of Ann Corkery’s funding sources; and John Bryan of Oregon, a retired oil and chemicals executive who spoke at one of the Koch confabs.TV ads sponsored by JCN and its dark money ally showed up closer to the election, with some attacking McMillen (one made her appear to have been lenient with a habitual offender) and others praising the challengers. “They were on every half-hour,” McMillen told The Daily Beast. “It was relentless.” There was radio, too, and a torrent of direct mail.McMillen says she doesn’t know who went after her. “I have no idea,” she said. “There are people who don’t like the way I’ve decided; we handle big litigation.”Bhargava did not respond to numerous requests for comment.In any case, JCN’s Wolverine State crusades didn’t work out too well. McCormack is now a Supreme Court justice and McMillen won her contest, too. In early 2013, she ruled against Bhargava.</section>But in 2014 he clearly emerged as a national mega donor to boost GOP governors at a time when his energy drink company was facing probes by as many as 33 state AGs into allegations of deceptive advertising. In the last election cycle Bhargava’s ETC Capital investment firm gave <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail_contribs.php?ein=113655877&cycle=2014" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">nearly $2.8 million</a> to the Republican Governors Association, putting him at the top of RGA’s donor heap right after David Koch and his company and casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson.Attorneys general become focusJCN’s surging dark money dollars found a new outlet last year when the network ponied up $1 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association for its 2014 drive to help the GOP capture AG seats in Nevada, Colorado, and elsewhere. That made JCN <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail_contribs.php?ein=464501717&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">RAGA’s third-largest donor</a> in a year when RAGA was instrumental in helping Republicans capture enough AG posts that they now hold the majority. RAGA and similar 527 organizations must disclose their donors, but the sources of JCN’s contributions remain in the dark.On top of that, JCN sent $750,000 to the Iowa-based American Future Fund, which started its own AG project between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013, tax filings show — JCN’s largest grant of that fiscal year. In turn, AFF chipped in $680,000 to RAGA last year.State attorneys general had been moving higher on JCN’s political radar. Policy director and chief counsel Carrie Severino, who succeeded Wendy Long as JCN’s counsel in 2010 and, like her, once clerked for Justice Thomas, wrote in <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/329618/state-attorney-general-races-watch-carrie-severino" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">National Review</a> right before the 2012 elections that conservative AGs are “emerging as key leaders in the battle for limited constitutional government.” Many of them, she noted, had joined the challenge to Obamacare, and a number were also fighting the Dodd-Frank financial services overhaul and EPA regulations.Dark money ties that bindThe JCN spending through RAGA to boost the GOP’s share of AG slots is just one example of the synergies that the network has forged as a dark money vehicle. Other ties binding JCN to various groups it has funded — and received money from — are evident in the comings and goings of personnel, consultants, and board members. For instance, whenGary Marx stepped down as JCN’s executive director in mid-2011, he took a similar post with Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition (a group that <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib_rcpt.php?id=270182697&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wellspring helped</a> in 2010 with a $250,000 check). Likewise, last year Chris Jankowski became a consultant to JCN after spending several years running the Republican State Leadership Committee until he departed suddenly in early 2014, according to multiple sources. Both JCN and Wellspring had funneled hundreds of thousands to the RSLC, which has helped the GOP chart major gains in legislatures and other state offices. (RAGA had been part of that group but was spun off early last year.) But JCN’s tightest ties with any group or individual revolve around Ann and Neil Corkery, which meant that Wellspring’s links to JCN were personal as well as political. Serendipitously Ann Corkery’s husband Neil was JCN’s treasurer, a paid part-time gig. The group’s small board also includes Dan Casey, a veteran GOP operative and “the political and PR brains” of that shop, says one source. Wellspring’s board was made up of Ann Corkery and two people the Corkerys knew from their work with Catholic groups.But in 2011, the ties between these two dark money machines grew even closer when Ann Corkery sacked her two fellow board members at Wellspring and replaced them with her daughter and the son of JCN board member Casey, according to IRS filings and former board members. One of those ousted, treasurer Steven Wagner, said, “I never saw any financial records. I was treasurer in name only.”In fact, Wellspring and JCN are the tip of a nonprofit iceberg when it comes to the Corkery family. In 2012, tax records show that Neil Corkery was not only treasurer of JCN, president of its allied Judicial Education Project, and executive director of a charity called the Sudan Relief Fund, all of which paid him salaries; but he also drew paychecks from at least four other organizations: the anti-gay union National Organization for Marriage, ActRight Action, the Catholic Association Foundation, and Catholic Voices. His total earnings were almost $450,000, and his weekly workload was 105 hours in the first half of the year, the groups’ IRS filings show, before dropping back to a mere 80.Some who are familiar with the groups are dubious about that workaholic schedule — especially at the Sudan charity, where Corkery was paid $235,000 for a supposed 40-hour workweek. Neither Ann nor Neil Corkery responded to phone messages or written requests for comment on this story.Moving aheadCritics notwithstanding, the board changes at Wellspring a few years ago seemed to spell good news for JCN, coinciding with the two recent years in which JCN received close to $3 million from Wellspring and allowing the network to ramp up its efforts in the states.And JCN has been otherwise busy, too — churning out, for example, amicus briefs for major legal challenges to Obama administration policies, including the high-profile case that now threatens to undermine key sections of Obamacare which was argued before the Supreme Court in early March.The group doesn’t always toe the mainstream GOP line: It has at times weighed in against Republicans in what look like internal party spats fueled by donor preferences.Ultimately JCN looks poised to continue its role as a dark money juggernaut in 2016 in state and federal elections — both directly and via allied dark money and 527 conduits. If JCN’s recent history proves a guide, that means voters going to the polls in 2016 will remain largely uninformed about who’s writing the network’s big checks for ad and grassroots drives to help elect the highest judicial and legal officers in the states, and senators who may well have to approve nominees to fill future Supreme Court vacancies.Robert Maguire of the Center for Responsive Politics contributed to this piecePeter Stone, who covered lobbying and the influence of money in politics at National Journal for 18 years, has been writing for Mother Jones, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast and others.koster dem missouri http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/30/us/politics/missouris-attorney-general-faces-scrutiny.htmlAttorney General of AlabamaLuther Strange

 Attorney General of ArizonaTom Horne

 Attorney General of ColoradoJohn W. Suthers

Attorney General of FloridaPam Bondi

 Attorney General of GeorgiaSam Olens

 Attorney General of IdahoLawrence Wasden

Attorney General of IndianaGreg Zoeller

 Attorney General of KansasDerek Schmidt

 Attorney General of LouisianaBuddy Caldwell

Attorney General of MichiganBill Schuette

 Attorney General of MontanaTim Fox

 Attorney General of NebraskaJon Bruning

Attorney General of North DakotaWayne Stenehjem

 Attorney General of OhioMike DeWine

 Attorney General of OklahomaScott Pruitt

Attorney General of South CarolinaAlan Wilson

 Attorney General of South DakotaMarty J. Jackley

 Attorney General of TexasGreg Abbott

Attorney General of UtahSean Reyes

 Attorney General of West VirginiaPatrick Morrisey

 Attorney General of WisconsinJ.B. Van Hollen--In most <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none;">common law</a> jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general is the main legal advisor to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government" title="Government" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none;">government</a>, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement" title="Law enforcement" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none;">law enforcement</a> or responsibility for public prosecutions. In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States" title="Federal government of the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">federal government of the United States</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney_General" title="United States Attorney General" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">Attorney General</a> is a member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Cabinet" title="United States Cabinet" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">Cabinet</a> and as head of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Justice" title="United States Department of Justice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">Department of Justice</a> is the top law enforcement officer and lawyer for the government. The attorney general may need to be distinguished from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Solicitor_General" title="United States Solicitor General" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">Solicitor General</a>, a high Justice Department official with the responsibility of representing the government before the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court" title="United States Supreme Court" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">Supreme Court</a>. In cases of exceptional importance, however, the Attorney General may choose to represent the government himself or herself to the Supreme Court.The individual <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.state" title="U.S. state" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">U.S. states</a> and territories, as well as the Federal capital of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C." title="Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">Washington, D.C.</a> also have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Attorney_General" title="State Attorney General" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none;">attorneys general</a> with similar responsibilities. The majority of state Attorneys General are chosen by popular election, as opposed to the U.S. Attorney General who is a presidential appointee. <header class="post-header" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h1 class="post-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/2014/11/05/2014-november-state-attorneys-general-elections-results/" title="Permalink to 2014 November State Attorneys General Elections Results" rel="bookmark" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none;">2014 November State Attorneys General Elections Results</a></h1><span class="post-byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block;">By <a href="http://www.dicksteinshapiro.com/people/bernard-nash" title="Visit Bernard's Biography" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none;">Bernard Nash</a> , <a href="http://www.dicksteinshapiro.com/allenc/" title="Visit Christopher's Biography" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none;">Christopher J. Allen</a> , and <a href="http://www.dicksteinshapiro.com/people/bryan-mosca" title="Visit Bryan's Biography" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none;">Bryan L. Mosca</a> on <time class="post-date" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">November 5th, 2014</time><span class="post-categories" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block;">Posted in <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/2014-election/" title="View all posts in 2014 Election" rel="category tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none;">2014 Election</a></header><section class="post-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Thirty states and the District of Columbia elected their AG yesterday. Four other states elected their Governor, who will appoint the state’s AG.<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 30px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">All incumbent AGs won their elections.</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Twelve new AGs were elected to office:<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 30px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Arizona – Republican Mark Brnovich</li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Arkansas – Republican Leslie Rutledge</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Colorado – Republican Cynthia Coffman</li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Delaware – Democrat Matt Denn</li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">DC – Democrat Karl Racine</li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Maryland – Democrat Brian Frosh</li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Massachusetts – Democrat Maura Healey</li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Nebraska – Republican Doug Peterson</li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Nevada – Republican Adam Laxalt</li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">New Mexico – Democrat Hector Balderas</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Texas – Republican Ken Paxton</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Wisconsin – Republican Brad Schimel</li></ul></li><li style="font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Four AGs and one former AG ran for Governor:<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 30px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Texas Republican AG Greg Abbott was elected Governor.</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">In Florida, Democratic former Governor and AG Charlie Crist was defeated by Republican Incumbent Governor Rick Scott.</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">In Massachusetts, Democratic AG Martha Coakley was defeated by Republican Charlie Baker.</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">In New Mexico, Democratic AG Gary King was defeated by Republican Incumbent Governor Susana Martinez.</li></ul></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">One former AG is leading his race for U.S. Senate:<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 30px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: disc;">Former Alaska Republican AG Dan Sullivan is currently leading by a few percentage points over Democratic Incumbent Senator Mark Begich.</li></ul></li></ul>After picking up two seats, Republicans will now hold a majority of State AG seats. The 2015 AG political composition will be 27 Republicans to 23 Democrats. That balance might change slightly over the coming months due to a small number of states where the new governor or newly-seated legislature will appoint the AG. The states to watch are Alaska, where Independent Bill Walker is currently leading over Republican Incumbent Governor Sean Parnell, and Maine, where the state Senate races are too close to call and a Republican victory would create uncertainty for current AG Democrat Janet Mills.To view the rest of the AG election results, please click <a href="http://www.dicksteinshapiro.com/sites/default/files/AG_Results_Blog_Post.pdf" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none;">here</a>.For further analysis of the 2014 election, please join Bernie Nash, head of Dickstein Shapiro’s State AG practice, as he partners with the Association of Corporate Counsel to present a webcast on how this new AG landscape will affect the business community.The webcast is today at 3 PM EST/12 PM PST. Register <a href="http://webcasts.acc.com/detail.php?id=951940&go=1" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none;">here</a>.</div></section><footer class="post-footer" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="post-tags" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; text-transform: uppercase;">TAGS: <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/acc-webcast/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">ACC webcast</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/alaska-governor-sean-parnell/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Alaska Governor Sean Parnell</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/alaska-independent-bill-walker/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Alaska Independent Bill Walker</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/alaska-senator-mark-begich/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Alaska Senator Mark Begich</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/arizona-republican-mark-brnovich/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Arizona Republican Mark Brnovich</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/arkansas-republican-leslie-rutledge/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Arkansas Republican Leslie Rutledge</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/colorado-republican-cynthia-coffman/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Colorado Republican Cynthia Coffman</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/dc-democrat-karl-racine/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">DC Democrat Karl Racine</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/delaware-democrat-matt-denn/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Delaware Democrat Matt Denn</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/florida-governor-rick-scott/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Florida Governor Rick Scott</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/former-alaska-attorney-general-dan-sullivan/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan</a>,<a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/former-florida-governor-and-attorney-general-charlie-crist/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Former Florida Governor and Attorney General Charlie Crist</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/maine-attorney-general-janet-mills/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Maine Attorney General Janet Mills</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/maryland-democrat-brian-frosh/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Maryland Democrat Brian Frosh</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/massachusetts-attorney-general-martha-coakley/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/massachusetts-democrat-maura-healey/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Massachusetts Democrat Maura Healey</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/massachusetts-republican-charlie-baker/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Massachusetts Republican Charlie Baker</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/nebraska-republican-doug-peterson/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Nebraska Republican Doug Peterson</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/nevada-republican-adam-laxal/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Nevada Republican Adam Laxal</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/new-mexico-attorney-general-gary-king/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">New Mexico Attorney General Gary King</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/new-mexico-democrat-hector-balderas/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">New Mexico Democrat Hector Balderas</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/new-mexico-governor-susana-martinez/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/texas-attorney-general-greg-abbott/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/texas-republican-ken-paxton/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Texas Republican Ken Paxton</a>, <a href="http://www.stateagmonitor.com/tag/wisconsin-republican-brad-schimel/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; text-transform: none;">Wisconsin Republican Brad Schimel</a></footer> pruitt runs RG AG=<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/07/3600475/investigation-energy-firms-attorneys-general-fighting-federal-government/">http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/07/3600475/investigation-energy-firms-attorneys-general-fighting-federal-government/</a>Energy firms and state attorneys general have established a secretive alliance in an effort to derail environmental oversight and promote fossil fuels, according to an in-depth New York Times’ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html?smid=tw-share" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">investigation</a> published this weekend. Having reviewed thousands of emails and legal documents and undertaken dozens of interviews, the Times found that “Republican attorneys general have formed with some of the nation’s top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda.”</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>