raga616a

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">recover?</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">616a is shorter than 616</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1219 new</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><a href="https://www.prwatch.org/news/2019/12/13517/gop-state-attorneys-general-fight-environmental-regulations-fossil-fuel-companies"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.prwatch.org/news/2019/12/13517/gop-state-attorneys-general-fight-environmental-regulations-fossil-fuel-companies</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">alex k</font></div><div><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As Republican Attorneys General faced 2018 re-election bids and continued their legal challenges to Obama-era environmental regulations, fossil fuel companies poured millions of dollars into the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), a political nonprofit that spends money to elect GOP AGs. That trend has continued into this year. From 2017 through mid-2019, oil, gas, and coal companies, trade associations, fossil fuel utilities, and industry executives donated over $6.7 million to RAGA, a CMD investigation has found. Fifty-five companies and trade groups and four executives made these donations.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Giving the most money to RAGA since 2017 are oil and natural gas exploration company Noble Energy ($1,020,000), oil refining and materials conglomerate Koch Industries ($755,000), natural gas energy supplier NextEra Energy Resources ($500,855), and oil and gas drillers Anadarko Petroleum ($500,000) and PDC Energy ($350,000).</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">RAGA's&nbsp;<a href="https://republicanags.com/2019/08/01/republican-attorneys-general-association-brings-in-groundbreaking-9-6-million-fundraising-haul-for-first-half-of-2019/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">$9.6 million</a>&nbsp;haul in the first half of 2019 dwarfs that of 2015, the last similar fundraising period. That amount includes contributions to RAGA’s related entities such as the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a 501(c)(4) dark-money group founded in 2014 and&nbsp;<a href="https://maplight.org/story/conservative-group-led-by-epa-chief-pruitt-received-dark-money-to-battle-environmental-regulations/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">funded</a>&nbsp;by Koch-linked political groups, the Edison Electric Institute, the Judicial Crisis Network, and the Federalist Society in past years.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In addition to helping elect Republican candidates, the corporations' donations to RAGA score them personal meetings with GOP attorneys general. At four private events each year at luxury hotels, industry lobbyists, lawyers, and executives get exclusive access to the attorneys general, and the&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">AGs have been happy to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/09/13136/RAGA-Clean-Power-Plan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">oblige the corporations’ wishes</a>. Numerous GOP AGs have launched lawsuits attacking Obama-era environmental regulations such as the Clean Power Plan, the Clean Air Act, the Waters of the United States rule (WOTUS), and ozone caps.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other&nbsp;<a href="https://documented.net/2019/04/republican-attorneys-general-group-hosting-oil-and-gas-summit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">perks</a>&nbsp;for annual RAGA donors include access to additional RAGA events, policy conference calls, monthly political briefings, passes to the annual Edmund Randolph Club retreats, and the option to pitch topics and be panelists at conferences. One RAGA event this year, in April, was an&nbsp;<a href="https://documented.net/2019/04/republican-attorneys-general-group-hosting-oil-and-gas-summit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">oil and gas summit</a>&nbsp;to Houston.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In some cases, oil and gas corporations extend their communications with attorneys general beyond RAGA events. For example, former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt had secret meetings with industry lobbyists and challenged EPA regulations by sending letters to the agency that appeared to be written by Pruitt’s office but were actually&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html?r=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">authored by lobbyists for oil and gas exploration company Devon Energy</a>. Pruitt filed 14 legal challenges to environmental regulations during his tenure as Oklahoma AG.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">CMD sued Pruitt for access to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/pruitt-emails-key-findings/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">thousands of emails</a>&nbsp;between Pruitt's office and energy interests&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/02/07/lawsuit-filed-against-trump-nominee-pruitt-polluter-emails/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">sued to stop the emails' destruction</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. The correspondence records led to&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/02/22/oklahoma-attorney-generals-office-releases-7500-pages-of-emails-between-scott-pruitt-and-fossil-fuel-industry/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">national coverage</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;of Pruitt's close relationships with Devon Energy, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers trade association, the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, and other industry interests.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pruitt became Trump's director of the EPA in 2017, but his fellow Republican AGs continue to fight Obama's environmental regulations in the courts, buoyed by election support from RAGA.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In early 2017, as Democratic AGs began to sue the Trump administration, RAGA ramped up its electoral operation,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-republican-ags-exclusive-idUSKBN16Z1A5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">ending a longstanding agreement</a>&nbsp;with its Democratic counterpart to refrain from targeting the other party's incumbent AGs.</font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arizona</font></h2><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In the 2018 Arizona elections, Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich faced a Democratic challenger, and voters weighed in on a ballot measure to require utility companies to generate 50 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Brnovich ran against the measure and was buoyed by Pinnacle West Capital--the holding company that owns Arizona Public Service, the state's largest public utility--which gave $200,000 to RAGA in the 2018 election cycle. Pinnacle West PAC also donated $7,000 to the Brnovich campaign, and CEO Don Brandt gave $2,500.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RAGA put nearly $3.7 million into Arizona state elections in the 2018 cycle, giving $2.9 million to Arizona for Freedom PAC, which spent most of that on ads, and over $750,000 to the RAGA Arizona PAC, which transferred the money to the state Republican Party.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Democratic challenger January Contreras had backing from the Democratic Attorneys General Association and the Tom Steyer-linked outside group Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona, which spent several million dollars supporting her, but she lost a close race to Brnovich.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Far more expensive was the ballot measure campaign, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/10/16/arizona-clean-energy-ballot-measure-proposition-127-most-expensive-state-history/1660198002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">most costly</a>&nbsp;in Arizona's history</b>. Pinnacle West poured $32.3 million into political group Arizonans for Affordable Electricity, which campaigned against the measure, and Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona, financed mostly by Steyer's NextGen Climate Action, spent $24 million in favor. The measure lost by a big margin.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2015, Brnovich and Arizona Public Service&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-officially-sues-epa-over-clean-power-plan-7772833" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">joined</a>&nbsp;the multi-state lawsuit against Obama's Clean Power Plan. After Trump was elected, in late 2016, Brnovich joined 23 other states in a letter urging the new president-elect to withdraw the Clean Power Plan.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Also in 2015, Brnovich&nbsp;<a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/258343-five-states-sue-over-ozone-rule" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">led a coalition</a>&nbsp;in suing the EPA over restrictions on ozone, which coal company Murray Energy had also legally challenged.</font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Colorado</font></h2><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Colorado's outgoing Republican Attorney General Cynthia Coffman had joined other states in challenging the Clean Power Plan, and&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">2018 GOP candidate George Brauchler also opposed the greenhouse gas restrictions and pledged not to challenge the Trump administration's actions. Brauchler favored the White House's "Affordable Clean Energy Rule" to replace the Clean Power Plan, while Democratic candidate Phil Weiser supported the restrictions and called attention to Brauchler's "<a href="https://gazette.com/news/energy-environment-are-crux-of-colorado-attorney-general-battle-between/article_f4822fd6-b1fa-11e8-a214-1781c1cddec7.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">pro-industry approach to energy extraction</a>."</span></font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RAGA spent&nbsp;<a href="https://coloradosun.com/2018/12/10/campaign-finance-2018-colorado-super-pac/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">over $5.1 million</a>&nbsp;backing Brauchler through Colorado Freedom, a RAGA state affiliate set up by RAGA's chief financial officer, Lee Russell. Weiser, who won the race,&nbsp;<a href="https://gazette.com/news/energy-environment-are-crux-of-colorado-attorney-general-battle-between/article_f4822fd6-b1fa-11e8-a214-1781c1cddec7.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">criticized</a>&nbsp;Colorado Freedom for being a "dark money" group funded, via RAGA, by "mostly out-of-state corporations" including Koch Industries.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some of the same fossil fuel companies that financed RAGA including Anadarko Petroleum, Extraction Oil and Gas, Noble Energy, and PDC Energy also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/oil-and-gas-money-fueling-the-campaigns-for-colorados-amendment-74-against-prop-112-10954929" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">gave millions</a>&nbsp;of dollars to another outside group, Protect Colorado, which spent a massive $40 million advocating the oil and gas industry's interests around two ballot measures.</font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michigan</font></h2><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The 2018 AG race in Michigan was another open contest between candidates with a stark contrast on energy policy.&nbsp;<b>Republican candidate Tom Leonard&nbsp;</b>ran with explicit support for an aging Enbridge oil pipeline, while Democrat Dana Nessel pledged to shut it down in her first act as attorney general.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Enbridge did not donate to RAGA in the 2018 cycle, but ExxonMobil, with which it co-owns multiple pipelines, gave over $125,000. This year, Enbridge contributed $25,000 to RAGA.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RAGA spent at least&nbsp;<a href="https://republicanags.com/2018/08/29/raga-announces-4-million-tv-buy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">$1.5 million</a>&nbsp;backing Leonard and gave $6,800 to the Leonard campaign, but Nessel won the race. Under Nessel, Michigan has joined other Democratic states to challenge Trump initiatives including its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-359-92297_47203-504608--,00.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">Clean Power Plan replacement</a>. She also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.michiganradio.org/post/michigan-withdraws-lawsuits-over-federal-environmental-rules" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">withdrew</a>&nbsp;the state from the Republican challenge to the Clean Power Plan and from a Murray Energy lawsuit against EPA clean air regulations, which the state had joined as a petitioner.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the next AG race, in 2022, RAGA will very likely harness cash from its fossil fuel donors in an attempt to reinstate a pro-industry Republican.</font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Texas</font></h2><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In the Longhorn State, Attorney General Ken Paxton, RAGA's chair in 2019, ran for re-election against Democrat Justin Nelson in 2018. Like other Republican AGs seeking new terms, Paxton got major support from RAGA, which made $650,000 in direct donations to his campaign as well as $21,500 in in-kind contributions for research. Paxton won the race by 3.6 percent of the vote.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paxton's RAGA&nbsp;<a href="https://republicanags.com/ags/ken-paxton/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">biography</a>&nbsp;boasts that he has sued the Obama administration 22 times. The suits include challenges to the Clean Power Plan, the EPA's "Regional Haze" rule, methane emission standards, and restrictions on coal mining near waterways.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This year, Paxton sued ExxonMobil over a fire at its chemical plant that injured 37 people, the fourth fire that has occured at the Bayton, Texas plant this year. But his lawsuit, filed at the state level, could upend two suits by the county in county court, putting Paxton in charge of the whole operation. Some, wary of his fossil fuel-friendly history, worry he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/texas/blog/2019/09/ken-paxton-environmental-champion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">might go easy on the oil giant</a>.</font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2019 Races</font></h2><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In 2019, Republicans flipped two state AG offices and held onto another. In Kentucky, RAGA made its biggest ad pre-booking expenditure ever:&nbsp;<a href="https://republicanags.com/2019/08/29/raga-announces-3-25-million-kentucky-ad-buy-supporting-daniel-cameron/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">$3.25 million</a>&nbsp;benefiting GOP candidate Daniel Cameron, who would go on to win the race. Coal is a major industry in the state, but the election centered more on health care and the opioid crisis.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>In Mississippi, successful AG candidate Lynn Fitch</b>&nbsp;got a $150,000 in direct campaign donations as well as more than $76,000 worth of in-kind contributions from RAGA’s Mississippi PAC, according to state campaign finance data.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>In Louisiana, Republican Jeff Landry won re-election.</b>&nbsp;In January, Landry&nbsp;<a href="https://thehayride.com/2019/01/landry-war-between-federal-agency-overreach-self-governance-still-rages/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">railed against EPA regulations</a>&nbsp;in an op-ed, criticizing the Clean Power Plan and fuel efficiency increases and praising Trump for cutting numerous environmental standards. RAGA has elected Landry to be its 2020 chair.</font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2020 Races</font></h2><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="https://stateagelections.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">Ten states</a>&nbsp;have AG elections in 2020, including Utah, where Republican Sean Reyes will seek re-election. Under Reyes, Utah became the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.deseret.com/2018/12/11/20660906/ranchers-reveling-in-trump-s-proposed-rollback-of-water-regulations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">first state</a>&nbsp;in a 10-state coalition to challenge Obama's Waters of the United States rule, which expanded the definition of protected waters under the 1972 Clean Water Act.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2017, along with a number of other GOP AGs including Landry and Paxton, Reyes signed&nbsp;<a href="http://ago.wv.gov/Documents/2017.06.19%20WOTUS%20Comments.PDF" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">a letter</a>&nbsp;to Pruitt's EPA urging it to "respect the states" regarding WOTUS.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The 2015 WOTUS Rule is a clear example for federal overreach that infringed on the States' traditional role as primary regulators of land and water resources within their borders,"&nbsp;<a href="https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/utah-ag-and-coalition-blocks-2015-wotus-rule/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">said</a>&nbsp;Reyes in August of this year, after a federal district court maintained an injunction against the WOTUS rule that Reyes and other GOP AGs sought. In October, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/epa-repeals-wotus-rule-35667/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">officially repealed the rule</a>, reinstating the less strict standards that were in place before the rule</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD&nbsp;<a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/07/18/watchdog-group-sues-utah-ag-withholding-raga-documents/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">sued</a>&nbsp;Reyes for withholding public records about his involvement in RAGA and the Rule of Law Defense Fund, generating&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5522658&itype=cmsid" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">local</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/watchdog-group-sues-utah-attorney-general-727c69a88c7f/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">national coverage</a>&nbsp;of RAGA's pay-to-play arrangement with corporations, including fossil fuel companies. The suit is still pending.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Nine other states--Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia--also have AG races in 2020.&nbsp;</b>In Indiana and Missouri, Republican incumbents are seeking re-election. Indiana AG Curtis Hill, like his fellow GOP AGs, has advanced energy industry interests, leading 15 states in two 2018 friend-of-the-court briefs&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalnewsline/2018/06/04/states-against-climate-change-lawsuits-ask-for-dismissal-of-nycs/#5a6e099997b8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">seeking dismissal</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalnewsline/2018/04/20/as-boulder-sues-15-states-including-colorado-oppose-global-warming-lawsuits/#4c11b9464518" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">California</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalnewsline/2018/06/04/states-against-climate-change-lawsuits-ask-for-dismissal-of-nycs/#69826fab97b8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">New York's</a>&nbsp;lawsuits against the industry over its effect on climate change. Coffman, Paxton, Reyes, and Landry were among the other signatories of the briefs.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; word-spacing: 3.6px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Meanwhile, RAGA has supported the AGs’ efforts. In 2018, it&nbsp;<a href="https://republicanags.com/2018/08/22/raga-chair-and-arkansas-attorney-general-leslie-rutledge-talks-clean-energy-on-americas-newsroom/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">publicized</a>&nbsp;Arkansas AG Leslie Wheeler's appearance on a Fox News show during which she discussed her opposition to the Clean Power Plan. RAGA's Rule of Law Defense Fund hosted&nbsp;<a href="https://republicanags.com/2019/10/18/icymi-south-carolina-ag-alan-wilson-and-rule-of-law-defense-fund-host-policy-panel-on-climate-change-litigation-and-public-nuisance-lawsuits/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(204, 51, 51) 0px 3px 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s;">a panel</a>&nbsp;in October 2019, featuring South Carolina AG Alan Wilson, about strategies to combat climate change legislation.</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">spreadsht</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Judicial Crisis Network<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,445,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Las Vegas Sands<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$500,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Blue Cross/Blue Shield<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$451,100</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ariel Corp<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$400,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>US Chamber of Commerce<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$369,010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Koch Industries<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$353,250</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Reynolds American<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$277,950</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">8<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$273,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Select Management Resources<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$253,240</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>ETC Capital<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$251,197</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Murray Energy<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>RULE of LAW DEFENSE FUND-NOT A CONTRIB<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$242,698</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">13<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Purdue Pharma<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$240,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">14<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$190,736</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">15<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Rule of Law Defense Fund<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$175,855</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">16<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Altria Group<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$150,700</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">17<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Pfizer Inc<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$135,350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">18<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>National Rifle Assn<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$128,860</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">19<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Vivint Inc<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$125,650</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">20<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>21st Century Fox<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$125,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Officer<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Assumed office</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nevada<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Adam Laxalt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">South Carolina<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alan Wilson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michigan<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Duncan "Bill" Schuette</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wisconsin<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brad Schimel</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alaska<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Craig W. Richards</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Colorado<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cynthia Coffman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kansas<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Derek Schmidt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nebraska<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Doug Peterson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Indiana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Zoeller</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2009</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tennessee<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Herbert H. Slatery</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louisiana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeff Landry</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2016</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Texas<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ken Paxton</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Idaho<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Wasden</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2003</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arkansas<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Leslie Rutledge</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alabama<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Luther J. Strange, III</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arizona<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Brnovich</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">South Dakota<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marty J. Jackley</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2009</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Michael DeWine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Florida<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pam Bondi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">West Virginia<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patrick Morrisey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2013</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wyoming<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Peter Michael</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2013</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Jersey<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Robert Lougy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2013</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Georgia<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Samuel S. Olens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oklahoma<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Pruitt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Utah<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sean D. Reyes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2013</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Montana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Fox</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2013</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North Dakota<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wayne Stenehjem</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2001</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Attorneys General Association, "RAGA: States' Rights," January 22, 2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RAGA616</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Alabama 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Luther Strange</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Craig W. Richards</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Alaska</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Richards was appointed by Governor Bill Walker to the office of Attorney General in December, 2014. He has a wealth of experience in complex matters relating to oil and gas, finance, tax, and municipal law. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Richards was a named attorney in the Anchorage law firm Walker & Richards, LLC, where he practiced for over 10 years. Mr. Richards joined the firm in 2003 and specialized in oil and gas project development and tax matters, including extensive work on a proposed natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to tidewater. Mr. Richards managed the oil and gas litigation team at the practice and coordinated legal and financial strategies with clients. He led the negotiations on numerous multi-million dollar settlements, acquisitions, and contracts during his tenure with the firm. In addition to majoring in finance at the University of Virginia, Mr. Richards holds a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University and a juris doctorate from Washington & Lee University School of Law. He was appointed to the Alaska Permanent Fund Board of Trustees by Governor Walker in October, 2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Arizona</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Horne PRIMARIED</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Colorado</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John W. Suthers mayor colo springs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Florida</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pam Bondi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Georgia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sam Olens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Idaho</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Wasden</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Indiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Zoeller</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Kansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Derek Schmidt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Louisiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Buddy Caldwell</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Michigan 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Schuette</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Montana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Fox</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Nebraska</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jon Bruning</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of North Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wayne Stenehjem</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Ohio</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike DeWine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Oklahoma</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Pruitt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of South Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alan Wilson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of South Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marty J. Jackley</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Texas 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Abbott</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Utah</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sean Reyes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of West Virginia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patrick Morrisey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Wisconsin</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">J.B. Van Hollen</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AG INDIVIDUAL SUM: $2,871,208</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An examination of industry donations to the Republican Attorneys General who have joined the lawsuit</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">against the Clean Power Plan. Republican Attorneys General who were appointed or do not have</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">campaign contribution records are excluded.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1. Alabama – Luther Strange 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$314,788</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2. Arizona - Mark Brnovich</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$11,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3. Arkansas – Leslie Rutledge</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$32,875</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4. Colorado – Cynthia Coffman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$22,828</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5. Florida – Pam Bondi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$26,350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6. Georgia – Sam Olens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$43,925</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7. Indiana – Greg Zoeller</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$28,200</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">8. Kansas – Derek Schmidt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$129,737</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9. Louisiana – Buddy Caldwell 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$98,642</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10. Michigan – Bill Schuette 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$172,241</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/16 fuel fix bs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A campaign by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to end the investigation into ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel companies over false statements on climate change is gaining support among other state law enforcement officials.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys general from 13 states signed an open letter Wednesday, arguing that climate change is a public policy debate, not a criminal matter, and urging law enforcement officials in other states to “stop policing viewpoints.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“We all understand the need for a healthy environment, but we represent a wide range of viewpoints regarding the extent to which man contributes to climate change and the costs and benefits of any proposed fix,” the letter reads. “Nevertheless, we agree on at least one thing—this is not a question for the courts.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys general from Alabama, Michigan, Texas, Alaska, Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and South Carolina signed the letter.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paxton made headlines last month when he and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange filed a motion seeking to block a subpoena by the U.S. Virgin Islands for ExxonMobil’s internal documents related to climate change. Paxton called the the probe a “a fishing expedition of the worst kind.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AG Coalition Resp Letter 2016-06-15</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">616 capt:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;STATE level action</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AG stepping stone to governor, tough on crime, drugs, border</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; newsest incarnation of old FREE judge dude ranch orientations?&nbsp; see LEC gmu</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see team blue and red:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://ballotpedia.org/Republican_Attorneys_General_Association</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Alabama: Luther Strange</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Arizona; Tom Horne</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Colorado: John W. Suthers</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Florida&nbsp; Pam Bondi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Georgia Sam Olens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Idaho Lawrence Wasden</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Indiana Greg Zoeller</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Kansas: Derek Schmidt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Louisiana: Buddy Caldwell</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Michigan: Bill Schuette</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Montana: Tim Fox</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Nebraska: Jon Bruning</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of North Dakota: Wayne Stenehjem</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Ohio: Mike DeWine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Oklahoma: Scott Pruitt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of South Carolina: Alan Wilson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of South Dakota: Marty J. Jackley</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Texas: Greg Abbott</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Utah: Sean Reyes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of West Virginia: Patrick Morrisey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Wisconsin: J.B. Van Hollen</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">from team red:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AG INDIVIDUAL SUM: $2,871,208</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An examination of industry donations to the Republican Attorneys General who have joined the lawsuit</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">against the Clean Power Plan. Republican Attorneys General who were appointed or do not have</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">campaign contribution records are excluded.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1. Alabama – Luther Strange 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$314,788</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2. Arizona - Mark Brnovich</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$11,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3. Arkansas – Leslie Rutledge</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$32,875</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4. Colorado – Cynthia Coffman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$22,828</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5. Florida – Pam Bondi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$26,350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6. Georgia – Sam Olens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$43,925</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7. Indiana – Greg Zoeller</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$28,200</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">8. Kansas – Derek Schmidt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$129,737</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9. Louisiana – Buddy Caldwell 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$98,642</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10. Michigan – Bill Schuette 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$172,241</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11. Montana – Tim Fox</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$35,241</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12. Nebraska – Doug Peterson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$4,053</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">13. North Dakota - Wayne Stenehjem</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$87,801</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">14. Nevada – Adam Paul Laxalt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$27,300</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">15. Ohio – Mike DeWine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$335,763</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">16. Oklahoma - Scott Pruitt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$305,996</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">17. South Carolina – Alan Wilson 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$39,050</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">18. South Dakota – Marty Jackley</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$10,826</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">19. Texas – Ken Paxton 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$1,067,817</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">20. Utah – Sean Reyes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$2,800</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">21. West Virginia – Patrick Morrissey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$53,500</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22. Wisconsin – Brad Schimel 13</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$20,475</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The key findings of the report include:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Attorneys General and their national organizing arm, the Republican Attorneys General Association, have received a sum total of more than $4.7 Million from polluters and energy interests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Republican Attorneys General Association has taken $1.9 Million from polluter and energy interests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Individual Republican Attorneys General have received a total of $2.8 Million from polluter and energy interests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louisiana Attorney General’s office close ties behind the scenes with Koch lobbyists Hunton & Williams.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wisconsin Attorney General’s office coordinating with the Koch-funded Heartland Institute to publish an anti-Clean Power Plan oped.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North Dakota Attorney General’s office holding “confidential” conference calls with coal the North American Coal Corporation as well as coal industry interests to discuss the Clean Power Plan.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Colorado Attorney General’s office seeking out anti-Clean Power Plan interests from lobbyists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine speaking about the Clean Power Plan at an Ohio Coal Association “closed press event” to allow him to “speak freely” as well as receiving anti-Clean Power Plan emails at a personal email address, which he forwarded to senior members of his staff at their government email address.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/16 fuel fix bs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A campaign by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to end the investigation into ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel companies over false statements on climate change is gaining support among other state law enforcement officials.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys general from 13 states signed an open letter Wednesday, arguing that climate change is a public policy debate, not a criminal matter, and urging law enforcement officials in other states to “stop policing viewpoints.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“We all understand the need for a healthy environment, but we represent a wide range of viewpoints regarding the extent to which man contributes to climate change and the costs and benefits of any proposed fix,” the letter reads. “Nevertheless, we agree on at least one thing—this is not a question for the courts.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys general from Alabama, Michigan, Texas, Alaska, Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and South Carolina signed the letter.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paxton made headlines last month when he and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange filed a motion seeking to block a subpoena by the U.S. Virgin Islands for ExxonMobil’s internal documents related to climate change. Paxton called the the probe a “a fishing expedition of the worst kind.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AG Coalition Resp Letter 2016-06-15</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">West 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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Morrisey is joined by attorneys general from&nbsp; Alabama, Arizona,&nbsp; Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, [Idaho?] Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri[koster ex- gop], Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, West Virginia Wyoming,&nbsp; and North Carolina.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://aufc.3cdn.net/64536796afdf796c96_bbm6ib8xs.pdf</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">saved ragarept616</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/16</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/03/ag-attack-clean-power-plan/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marking the anniversary of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2014 proposal of the Clean Power Plan, Americans United for Change released a new report Thursday. The report exposes behind the scenes coordination and details the depths of donations from polluters and energy interests who have funded a lawsuit against the EPA’s plan using Republican Attorneys General from around the country as their high-priced legal team.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Polluter_Impunity_750</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The report, Polluter Impunity, is part of Americans United for Change’s Polluters Over People campaign and shows how deeply tied Republican Attorneys General are to industries like coal and oil. A December 2014 New York Times exposé revealed an “unprecedented, secretive alliance” and coordination between Big Oil and Republican Attorneys General against environmental safeguards, including one Attorney General literally copying and pasting a letter drafted by energy lobbyists and sending it to the EPA on official letterhead.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The report shows that Republican Attorneys General pockets have been lined by the dirty energy interests for whom they’ve advocated. Since 2014, the dirty energy sector and big polluters have donated nearly $2 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association as well as $2.8 million dollars to the campaigns of individual Republican Attorneys General leading the charge on the lawsuit and blocking climate action. The report also shows new evidence of behind the scenes coordination between dirty energy interests and the offices of Republican Attorneys General acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The EPA’s plan would cut heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, save the average American $200 a year on their energy bills, bring down health costs associated with asthma attacks, lung cancer and other air pollution-related illnesses and pave the way for 250,000 new jobs when fully implemented.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Yet even considering the Clean Power Plan’s long list of benefits, the position of these Republican Attorneys General on the payroll for polluters becomes more indefensible when you consider how strongly at odds it puts them with the will of their own constituents who know that addressing climate change is no longer up for debate. Poll after poll has shown that voters support measures to address climate change, as well as elected officials willing to take action. In fact, in the home states of the Attorneys General bringing the lawsuit against the EPA, 61 percent of the public supports the Clean Power Plan.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But while they’ve already lost in the court of public opinion, big polluters and their allies in the Republican Attorneys General Association think they can use the courts to stop the Clean Power Plan despite its strong basis in existing law and the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the EPA’s authority to take action to limit carbon pollution three times. Even George W. Bush’s former EPA head Christine Todd Whitman testified that the “EPA does have the authority” to go forward with a policy she called the “most flexible thing” the agency has ever done.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The key findings of the report include:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Attorneys General and their national organizing arm, the Republican Attorneys General Association, have received a sum total of more than $4.7 Million from polluters and energy interests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Republican Attorneys General Association has taken $1.9 Million from polluter and energy interests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Individual Republican Attorneys General have received a total of $2.8 Million from polluter and energy interests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louisiana Attorney General’s office close ties behind the scenes with Koch lobbyists Hunton & Williams.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wisconsin Attorney General’s office coordinating with the Koch-funded Heartland Institute to publish an anti-Clean Power Plan oped.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North Dakota Attorney General’s office holding “confidential” conference calls with coal the North American Coal Corporation as well as coal industry interests to discuss the Clean Power Plan.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Colorado Attorney General’s office seeking out anti-Clean Power Plan interests from lobbyists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine speaking about the Clean Power Plan at an Ohio Coal Association “closed press event” to allow him to “speak freely” as well as receiving anti-Clean Power Plan emails at a personal email address, which he forwarded to senior members of his staff at their government email address.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Date Donor Amount</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/15/2014 American Gas Association $350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/30/2014 America's Natural Gas Alliance $700</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/19/2014 American Petroleum Institute $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/5/2014 American Gas Association $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/18/2014 Energy Future Holdings Corporate Services Company $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/27/2014 Centerpoint Energy $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/31/2014 Continental Resources, Inc.' $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/31/2014 Devon Energy Production Company $125,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/31/2014 DuPont $35,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/31/2014 Koch Industries, Inc $125,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4/15/2014 General Electric PAC $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4/24/2014 American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers $370</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4/29/2014 Alpha Natural Resources Services, LLC $350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/8/2014 American Natural Gas Alliance $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/13/2014 Peabody Energy $315</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/14/2014 Exxon Mobil Corporation $60,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/16/2014 Koch Companies Public Sector $4,900</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/30/2014 Continental Resources $685</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/12/2014 NextEra Energy $315</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/12/2014 NextEra Energy $315</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/23/2014 Marathon Oil Corporation $5,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/25/2014 Consumers Energy Company $10,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/30/2014 Chevron Policy Govt and Publ Affairs $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/30/2014 Dominion $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">8/27/2014 Whiting Oil and Gas Corp $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9/5/2014 Denbury Resources $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9/5/2014 NextEra Energy Resources $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9/11/2014 American Natural Gas Alliance (in kind) $3,395</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9/26/2014 Alpha Natural Resources Services LLC $5,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/2/2014 Consol Energy Inc $10,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/6/2014 America's Natural Gas Alliance $415</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/7/2014 Clean Energy $20,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/12/2014 Koch Industries Inc. $415</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/13/2014 NextEra Energy Resources $415</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/31/2014 Alliant Energy Corp $10,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11/6/2014 AmeriGas Propane, Inc. $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11/12/2014 NextEra Energy Resources $415</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/8/2015 American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers $350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/14/2015 American Gas Association $16,500</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/29/2015 American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/30/2015 American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers $350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/2/2015 Centerpoint Energy $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/3/2015 Koch Industries $125,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/11/2015 American Petroleum Institute $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/24/2015 Duke Energy $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/4/2015 Energy Future Holdings Corporate Services Company $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4/28/2015 Whiting Oil and Gas Corp $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/4/2015 Exxon Mobil Corporation $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/26/2015 Consumers Energy Company $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/28/2015 General Electric Company $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/2/2015 American Natural Gas Assiance Inc $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6/26/2015 Koch Companies Public Sector $400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/9/2015 American Natural Gas Alliance Inc 350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9/16/2015 Tri-State Generation And Transmission 350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/23/2015 Nextera Energy Resources LLC 610</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7/3/2015 Nextera Energy Resources LLC 400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12/17/2015 Chevron Policy Government And Public Affairs 25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/20/2015 American Fuel And Petrochemical Manufactuers 200</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10/26/2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tri-State Generation And Transmission</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Association 40,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11/9/2015 Amerigas Propane, LP 25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9/15/2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Energy Future Holdings Corporate Services</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Company 610</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7/15/2015 American Natural Gas Alliance Inc 400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9/24/2015 Alliant Energy Corporation Services Inc 350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12/31/2015 Alliant Energy Corporation Services Inc 15000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7/15/2015 Wv Oil And Natural Gas Association Inc. 5000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12/31/2015 Encana Oil And Gas Usa Inc 20000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9/30/2015 Nextera Energy Resources LLC 50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11/19/2015 Koch Industries, Inc. 100,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/18/2016 Centerpoint Energy $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/17/2016 American Petroleum Institute $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/8/2016 General Electric Company $50,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/2/2016</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Energy Future Holdings Corporate Services</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Company $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/3/2016 American Gas Association $350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/19/2016 Securing Americas Future Energy Foundation $350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/12/2016</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Energy Future Holdings Corporate Services</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Company $350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/16/2016 Koch Industries, Inc. $125,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/9/2016 American Fuel And Petrochemical Manufactuers $60,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2/24/2016 American Gas Association $15,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/8/2016 Nv Energy $25,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TOTAL: $1,915,275</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AG INDIVIDUAL SUM: $2,871,208</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An examination of industry donations to the Republican Attorneys General who have joined the lawsuit</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">against the Clean Power Plan. Republican Attorneys General who were appointed or do not have</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">campaign contribution records are excluded.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1. Alabama – Luther Strange</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$314,788</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2. Arizona - Mark Brnovich</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$11,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3. Arkansas – Leslie Rutledge</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$32,875</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4. Colorado – Cynthia Coffman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$22,828</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5. Florida – Pam Bondi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$26,350</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6. Georgia – Sam Olens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$43,925</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7. Indiana – Greg Zoeller</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$28,200</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">8. Kansas – Derek Schmidt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$129,737</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9. Louisiana – Buddy Caldwell</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$98,642</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10. Michigan – Bill Schuette</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$172,241</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11. Montana – Tim Fox</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$35,241</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12. Nebraska – Doug Peterson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$4,053</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">13. North Dakota - Wayne Stenehjem</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$87,801</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">14. Nevada – Adam Paul Laxalt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$27,300</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">15. Ohio – Mike DeWine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$335,763</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">16. Oklahoma - Scott Pruitt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$305,996</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">17. South Carolina – Alan Wilson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$39,050</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">18. South Dakota – Marty Jackley</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$10,826</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">19. Texas – Ken Paxton</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$1,067,817</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">20. Utah – Sean Reyes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$2,800</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">21. West Virginia – Patrick Morrissey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$53,500</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22. Wisconsin – Brad Schimel</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$20,475</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">24 = ~CPP</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1 A General of Alabama</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Luther Strange</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2 Attorney General of Arizona</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Brnovich</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3 Attorney General of Arkansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Leslie Rutledge</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4 Attorney General of Colorado</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cynthia Coffman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5 Attorney General of Florida</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pam Bondi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6 Attorney General of Georgia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sam Olens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7 Attorney General of Idaho</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Wasden</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">8 Attorney General of Indiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Zoeller</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9 Attorney General of Kansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Derek Schmidt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10 Attorney General of Louisiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeff Landry</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11 Attorney General of Michigan</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Schuette</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MISSOuRI?] KOSTER DEM EX GOP</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12 Attorney General of Montana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Fox</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">13 Attorney General of Nebraska</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Doug Peterson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">14 Attorney General of Nevada</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Adam Laxalt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">15 Attorney General of North Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wayne Stenehjem</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">16 Attorney General of Ohio</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike DeWine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">17 Attorney General of Oklahoma</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Pruitt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">18 Attorney General of South Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alan Wilson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">19 Attorney General of South Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marty J. Jackley</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">20 Attorney General of Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ken Paxton</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">21 Attorney General of Tennessee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Herbert Slatery</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">22 Attorney General of Utah</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sean Reyes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">23 Attorney General of West Virginia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patrick Morrisey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">24 Attorney General of Wisconsin</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brad Schimel&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AHA: rove started takeover of state courts?&nbsp; kochs go to state level when frozen on fed (and expensive); offshoot of fedsoc? RGA</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">redmap? or is that more sec of state</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cooch;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">tobacco, coal</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RAGA? big ~CPP, bondi endorse trump</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Republican Attorneys General Association is under fire in Colorado and Alabama for earlier donations to political-action committees. In Colorado, the money was used to hammer former Congressman Tom Tancredo in the governor’s primary.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The $2.6 million investment for Coffman is more than four times the amount spent by any candidate ever running for attorney general in Colorado, Quick said, and is believed to be the first time outside money has played a role in the race.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I don’t think Colorado voters are going to like a group from the outside trying to buy the attorney general’s office,” said Quick, the former Adams County district attorney. “There may be a real estate boom right now but the attorney general’s office isn’t up for sale.”[he was wrong]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Will, the political director for RAGA, has refused to tell The Denver Post why the organization, whose stated mission is to elect Republicans for attorney general, played in Colorado’s four-way GOP June 24 gubernatorial primary. Will did comment on the money for Coffman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“RAGA is investing heavily in this race because Colorado voters are rejecting the Obama agenda and making it clear that they want leaders like Cynthia Coffman who will rein in the federal government,” he said.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RAGA in June funneled $155,000 to a super PAC with ties to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. The money paid for automated calls and a radio ad attacking Tancredo, and a TV spot that highlighted another gubernatorial candidate, Bob Beauprez, at Tancredo’s expense. Beauprez beat Tancredo and two other GOP rivals in the June 24 primary. Days later, the Republican Governors Association contributed $175,000 to RAGA.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tancredo has demanded that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, chairman of RGA, provide a full explanation and release communications between his group and RAGA.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In Alabama, the RAGA donation to a PAC intended to benefit Luther Strange, the Republican attorney general seeking re-election, has been called illegal because of state campaign finance laws. Luther returned the $50,000 PAC donation after reporters asked questions, but a complaint has been filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Luther’s RAGA donation is paltry compared to the $2.6 million for Coffman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">pope:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I know, Republican politicians, other than Donald Trump, offer as an article of faith that they stand up against bailouts. In fact, the Club of Growth in its first attack on Trump, made a core issue of the idea that Trump has supported the Wall Street Bailout.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Except bailout opposition, it seems, falters when it comes to fossil fuels. Republicans took vicious exception to the Obama Administration’s willingness to use federal loan guarantees to help renewable energy companies – most spectacularly Solyndra—even though these loan guarantees, overall, came in under budget, and cumulatively created a powerful clean energy sector, but still, as you have heard thousands of times, taxpayers lost $535 million dollars when Solyndra failed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So you would expect an enormous conservative outcry if major multinational corporations exploited loopholes in federal law to stick the taxpayers not with hundreds of millions, but with bills for billions for their business mistakes?&nbsp; Right?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Well, maybe not. Because the nation’s coal mining companies have been doing exactly that, with the active cooperation not of liberal Democrats but of judges and regulators in conservative Republican states like Missouri, Wyoming and West Virginia. Coal companies hold in trust the funds that pay their workers’ pensions and health care. But over the past few years companies like Peabody Coal divided themselves into bits and pieces. Certain bits kept the parts of the coal business Peabody thought were money makers. Other bits (with sexy names like Patriot Coal) got assigned mines that were no longer profitable, along with bundled liabilities like retiree pensions and health care. When Patriot Coal, predictably, filed for bankruptcy it stuck the taxpayers and the workers with the obligations.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In one elegantly vicious move, 208 retired coal miners who had no connection to Patriot Coal, had never worked for it, and whose pensions were fiduciarily sound, saw their retirement siphoned off to pay for legal fees and other bankruptcy costs. In essence, Alcoa, which is not going bankrupt, paid Patriot, which was, to assume pension obligations for these 208 miners. Alcoa gave Patriot reasonable money.&nbsp; But instead of using the funds to pay for pensions, Patriot is using it to pay lawyers, which, in a bankruptcy, it thought it could get away with. Eventually, it had to back down. But 12,000 other mine workers, with more direct relationships with Peabody, face the loss of their hard earned pension and health care benefits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coal companies are also required to post bonds to pay for reclaiming strip mined land. But those with creatively puffed up balance sheets were allowed by states to “self bond” and guarantee their own obligations. Arch Coal, for example, was allowed to qualify for “self-bonding” only four months before it went bankrupt. Alpha Resources has obligations of almost a half billion dollars. But over the past three years even “strong” coal companies like Peabody have plummeted towards bankruptcy, making it impossible for them to actually pay their accumulated reclamation costs. Yet state regulator‘s took no effective action to make them put up bonds for the reclamation costs everyone knew were coming. More than 75 percent of Wyoming’s massive clean up bill is “self-bonded” by companies most of which no longer exist or will shortly no longer exist.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/31/big-coal-bailout-2016/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Republican_Attorneys_General_Association</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">srcwtch</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) is a Washington-based association of Republican Attorneys General. The association was created due to "concerns arising out of the industry-wide lawsuits that seek to promote public policy changes via the courthouse rather than the statehouse," and out of a desire to stop those with "a wish list for future mass state lawsuits-car rental companies, pharmaceutical firms, makers of lead paint and gun manufacturers."[1]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RAGA receives funding from major corporations, which can be considered a conflict of interest since some these corporations have, or are, suspected of criminal wrong-doing. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Microsoft Corporation donated $10,000 to RAGA while being sued for antitrust violations by the Justice Department and 19 states. [2][3].</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">SBC Communications Inc. (now AT&T) donated $35,000 while its acquisition of Ameritech Corp. was facing review by state officials.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Aetna U.S. Healthcare gave $10,000 to RAGA while being accused of HMO fraud by Attorney General Dan Morales (D-TX) in 1998 just before he left office. Litigation stalled under Morales' Republican successor, John Cornyn. [4].</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Texas Observer reports,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Since RAGA's creation in 1999, Simmons' two main holding companies, Contran and Valhi, have contributed $350,000 to the Republican PAC that launders RAGA's money, the Republican National State Elections Committee. RNSEC received another $211,000 since RAGA's creation from other companies that are defendants in the Rhode Island [lead paint] suit. This includes $201,000 from ARCO (and ARCO chairman emeritus Lodwrick Cook) and $10,000 from DuPont."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"[John] Cornyn's position is even more worth watching because a leading defendant in Rhode Island's lawsuit is NL Industries, which is controlled by Dallas corporate raider Harold Simmons. Simmons is a major donor to Republican PACs and candidates. He gave $90,000 to George W. Bush's two gubernatorial campaigns and has given Cornyn $31,000 since 1998." [5]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a two day fundraiser session back in the Spring of 2000 in Austin Texas, Karl Rove, George W. Bush's chief strategist, was featured. [6]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The primary method of contributing money to RAGA is to become a member. Membership costs from $5,000 to $25,000, with increasing levels of access to attorneys general depending on the donation amount.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Unfortunately, knowing the full details of the contributions RAGA receives is very difficult since all money received by RAGA is passed to the Republican National Committee without any public links, especially money received from direct solicitation by attorneys general.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Internal fundraising documents obtained by The Washington Post show that Republican state attorneys general were asked to solicit contributions from corporations and trade groups subject to lawsuits and regulations by their states. The companies solicited include Shell Oil, Brown & Williamson, Pfizer Inc.,MasterCard Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., Anheuser-Busch Cos., Citigroup Inc., Amway Corp., U.S. Steel Corp., Nextel Communications Inc., General Motors, and Microsoft Corp. The documents state that company officials would be allowed to meet, participate in conference calls, and socialize with the attorneys general.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys general mentioned in the documents include John Cornyn, who was the State Attorney General of Texas before being elected to the Senate in 2002; Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, founder of RAGA and pending President Bush federal appellate court nominee; former Virginia Attorney GeneralMark Earley; Delaware Attorney General Jane Brady; former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon; and former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery. [7]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contents</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1 Attorneys General</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2 Known Contributers</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3 External links</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4 Other Related SourceWatch Resources</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys General</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The following attorneys general are known to be part of (past and present) RAGA:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, founder of RAGA and pending President Bush federal appellate court nominee.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), State Attorney General of Texas before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Delaware Attorney General Jane Brady.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon, RAGA's first chairmen.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Known Contributers</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Due to a lack of any public disclosure, a complete list of contributers is not available:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Aetna U.S. Healthcare</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brown & Williamson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Microsoft Corporation</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Rifle Association</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">SBC Communications Inc.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">External links</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">March 30, 2000, Attorneys General Raise Funds for GOP, by George Lardner Jr. and Susan Schmidt, Washington Post.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">May 11, 2001, Corporate AGs: Attorney, Restrain Thyself!', by Andrew Wheat, The Texas Observer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">July 17, 2003, GOP Attorneys General Asked For Corporate Contributions, by R. Jeffrey Smith and Tania Branigan, Washington Post.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Judicial Crisis Network Is Heavily Tied To GOP Infrastructure</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN Spent More Than "More Than A Half-Million Dollars A Month Before Election Day In 2008" Attacking Obama. The Associated Press wrote that JCN "shelled out more than a half-million dollars a month before Election Day in 2008 for TV ads that linked Obama to shady characters and questioned who he would choose for the Supreme Court." [The Associated Press, 6/9/10]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN Gave The Republican Attorneys General Association $1,095,000 In 2015. JCN gave the Republican Attorneys General Association, "whose mission is electing Republicans to the Office of State Attorney General," $1,095,000 in 2015, according to an IRS filing. JCN gave the association $1,000,000 in 2014. [IRS.gov, 2/1/16, 12/4/14; Republican Attorneys General Association, accessed 2/19/16]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN Gave $500,000 To The Republican Governors Association In 2015. JCN gave the Republican Governors Association, which helps "elect Republicans to governorships throughout the nation," $500,000 in 2015, according to an IRS filing. [IRS.gov, 1/30/16; Twitter.com, 1/31/16; Republican Governors Association, accessed 2/19/16]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Daily Beast: "JCN Has Emerged As A Pipeline For Secret Money To Other, Better-Known Dark Money Groups." Viveca Novak and Peter Stone wrote in The Daily Beast of JCN:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN's pivotal part in the surge of spending on court elections has received scant attention. But in 2012, it dished out more than $2 million in court races in Michigan alone--half of that in a single down-ticket state circuit contest, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. 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. [The Daily Beast, 3/23/15]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN Head Regularly Writes For The Conservative National Review. Carrie Severino serves as chief counsel and policy director for JCN. She clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. She also writes for the National Review's legal section, where she frequently criticizes the Obama administration on legal issues. [Judicial Crisis Network, accessed 2/18/16; NationalReview.com, accessed 2/18/16; Media Matters, accessed 2/18/16]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://theintercept.com/2015/04/22/read-new-york-times-pulitzer-prize-winning-series-corporate-lobbying-state-attorneys-general/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">You don’t understand the world you live in if you haven’t read Eric Lipton’s three-part series in The New York Times on the staggering “explosion” of relentless, grimy lobbying of state attorneys general. Lipton just won a Pulitzer Prize for his work, and it’s truly deserved: it’s a masterpiece of investigative reporting, built on diligent use of open records laws by Lipton and Times researchers.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More than anything it makes you understand why those laws are so important and so loathed by politicians. As Tony Blair said in his memoir, he was an “idiot” for supporting a Freedom of Information Act in the U.K. because it’s “used by journalists.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Times series explains that the current corporate onslaught is a response to successful collaborations by state attorneys general over the past several decades, including settlements in which 46 states extracted $206 billion from the tobacco industry, and 49 states forced the top five mortgage servicers to cough up $25 billion.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Public officials acting in the public interest was clearly a glitch in the matrix, and corporate America set out to eliminate it. In 2000 the GOP created the Republican Attorneys General Association, telling corporate lawyers to “round up your clients and come see what RAGA is all about” and then contribute because policy was being set “via the courthouse rather than the statehouse.” RAGA raked in at least $11.7 million in 2014, including $2.2 million from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and $500,000 from Sheldon Adelson.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Democrats founded DAGA in 2002, and it now siphons up big chunks of money from many of the same donors as RAGA, including Citigroup, Comcast, Coca-Cola and Pfizer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RAGA and DAGA provide one-stop shops for influencing state attorneys general. Corporations donate; RAGA and DAGA distribute much of their cash to the campaigns of individual attorneys general; and some of the rest of the money pays for “conferences” that include fundraisers at which corporate executives and their lawyers can donate more to officials in attendance. Then after the attorneys general leave office, they can use the contacts they’ve developed to go work directly for the corporations.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The end result has been a kind of outsourcing of what citizens would expect their legal representatives to do themselves. For instance, The Times found:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">• Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General Scott Pruitt wrote a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency accusing them of “very significantly overestimating” the pollution caused by fracking; the letter was actually written by lawyers for an Oklahoma oil and gas company (which was a big supporter of RAGA).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">• Missouri’s Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster instituted restrictive new rules for investigations by his consumer affairs division, rules that had been suggested by a senior executive at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">• Plaintiffs’ lawyers have encouraged many attorneys general, mostly Democrats, to file hundreds of lawsuits against businesses; the attorneys general then hire the outside lawyers to do most of the work in return for contingency fees, usually 20 percent of any settlement.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The end results, former Maine Attorney General James Tierney told The Times, are “shocking, terrible.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But here’s the funny part: all the attorneys general questioned by The Times maintain that the money and lobbying have no influence on their decisions whatsoever. This means that the corporations doing the lobbying are engaged in a massive waste of shareholder resources. In other words, if the attorneys general truly believe what they say, they should consider filing a huge, multi-state lawsuit against their donors.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So please be sure to read it all.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">pruitt and miller energy summit:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oklahoma 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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 theClean Air Act.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And there was nothing ambiguous about the agenda.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Republican Attorneys General Association held its annual meeting in Miami in mid-November 2014. Many of the same companies seeking to enlist the Republican attorneys general to help combat the Obama regulatory agenda were there, to help celebrate the recent election victories and plan for future fights.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">KEY DOCUMENTS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Conference includes a large number of energy industry sponsors.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sponsors of the association's event in Miami included Devon Energy of Oklahoma, which has particularly close ties with Mr. Pruitt; Alliance Resource Partners, a coal mining company; and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, an industry trade association. Companies must donate at least $25,000 to the association to become a "host committee" member. Some, like Devon, donated much more this year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fund-raising group allows corporate contributions to be obscured.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The association has also started a new fund-raising vehicle called the Rule of Law Defense Fund, which will allow corporations to make contributions that will be hidden from public disclosure.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Southern and Hunton & Williams Letters</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Southern Company of Georgia, an electric utility with a number of coal-burning power plants, and Hunton & Williams, a law and lobbying firm that has joined with Southern to try to block the Obama administration's Clear Air Act rules, have also played key behind-the-scenes roles in pushing Mr. Pruitt and other mostly Republican attorneys general to take actions that help protect their interests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">KEY DOCUMENTS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney general’s office signs and circulates a lobbyist-drafted letter.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Days after being approached by a lobbyist from Hunton & Williams asking Mr. Pruitt’s office to intervene with the federal government on an environmental issue, a lawyer in Mr. Pruitt’s office took the lobbyist-drafted letter, put it on state government stationery and circulated it to 15 other state attorneys general, almost all Republicans, urging them to sign on as well after telling them this was “a comment letter we have prepared.” Soon after, the nearly identical final letter was sent to the E.P.A. administrator signed by seven Republican attorneys general.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lobbyists ask attorneys general to intervene on matters that stand to benefit clients.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hunton & Williams, on behalf of the Southern Company, held private meetings with attorneys general and offered them legal pointers on how to challenge various proposed E.P.A. rules. Hunton also formally asked one attorney general to join with other states and to intervene in federal court on behalf of his client.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ANNOTATE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">KEY DOCUMENTS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Letters Mr. Pruitt sent to the administration were almost identical to those suggested by lobbyists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An examination of the letters shows in some cases that Mr. Pruitt took them, signed them and simply sent them along, making almost no changes. In one letter, only 37 words of more than 1,000 were modified.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Emails show the Republican Attorneys General Association sells access to a large number of attorneys general.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Devon Energy is a major financial supporter of the association — which Mr. Pruitt took over in 2012 — donating $125,000 this year. In one email exchange, Mr. Pruitt’s chief of staff wrote to the head of lobbying at Devon to ask for help in getting the American Petroleum Institute to join the association.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Emails between Devon and Mr. Pruitt highlight an effort to block a fracking regulation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Email exchanges between Devon and Mr. Pruitt, as well as representatives from the Republican Governors Association, show how the company turned to Republican attorneys general and governors for help in trying to block a proposed Bureau of Land Management fracking regulation. The pitch has been successful so far, as the implementation of the rule has been repeatedly delayed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Several of the largest donors to the Republican and Democratic Attorneys General Associations are companies or groups that have been targets of investigations or are seeking help from attorneys general in challenging federal regulations. OCT. 28, 2014 RELATED ARTICLE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">KEY</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$0</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$100,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$500,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$2.3 million</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DONOR</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AMOUNT GIVEN TO:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RELEVANT ISSUES</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reps.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dems.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">’14</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">’13-’14</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">U.S. Chamber of</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Commerce</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pushing attorneys general to curb what it considers excessive litigation against</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">pharmaceutical, financial services and other industries.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Conservative nonprofit groups pushing for limits on federal environmental</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">regulation and continued challenges to the Obama health care program.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Judicial Crisis Network</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Future Fund</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">C.E.O. of Las Vegas Sands, seeking attorneys general support to ban online poker.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sheldon G. Adelson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pushing Democrats to support a narrower definition of “independent contractor."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Teamsters union</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pinnacle West Capital</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Owner of an Arizona electric utility that could benefit from action taken by the</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">attorney general there in challenging federal rules on coal-burning power plants.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Involved in recent disputes over continuing payouts from the 1998 tobacco</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">settlement and seeking to play a role in decisions over regulation of e-cigarettes.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Altria</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reynolds America</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Members of the network were targeted, but cleared, in an inquiry alleging anti-</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">competitive practices. Plaintiff's lawyers have urged that new actions be filed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blue Cross & Blue Shield</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Devon Energy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seeking help in blocking Obama administration rules governing fracking.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trinity Industries</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Targeted in investigations related to alleged defects in its highway guardrails.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seeking antitrust approval for a proposed merger with Time Warner Cable.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Comcast</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Previously targeted by attorneys general for alleged deceptive marketing practices.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rent-A-Center</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Recently settled a case related to its marketing and issuance of residential</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">mortgage-backed securities before 2009.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Citigroup</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Google</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Targeted in an inquiry into allegations that it allows illegal products to be</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">sold via its search engine.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coca-Cola</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A possible target if attorneys general pursue litigation, as one law firm has</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">advocated, against the food industry concerning obesity-related health costs.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DirecTV</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Antitrust review underway related to a proposed merger with AT&T. Previously</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">targeted for alleged deceptive marketing.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Herbalife International</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Targeted in an inquiry over allegations of fraudulent business practices.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Plaintiff's law firm seeking to act as contingency lawyer to attorneys general.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Labaton Sucharow</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5-Hour Energy affiliates</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Targeted in a consumer fraud investigation over product labeling and claims.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Targeted in multiple investigations related to alleged fradulent drug marketing.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pfizer</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contributions for 2013 are not available for the Republican Attorneys General Association, because until J</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;--</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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 $11.7 million since January.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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 on retainer to corporate clients.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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, the attorney general dismissed a case 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That Bank of America case was cited in July when the two most recent former attorneys general in Utah were charged with granting official favors to donors in exchange for golf getaways, rides on private planes and a luxury houseboat.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While the Utah case is extreme, some participants say even the daily lobbying can corrode public trust....</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html?r=0</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By ERIC LIPTON DEC. 6, 2014&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.” The email exchange from October 2011, obtained through an openrecords request, offers a hint of the unprecedented, secretive alliance that Mr.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?id=F29736&year=2008</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 2/16&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 3/16</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;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.” Mr. 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.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 4/16</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;“It is quite new,” said Paul Nolette, a political­science 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 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 5/16 Resources, which is among the biggest oil and gas drilling companies in both Oklahoma and North Dakota. This 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 re­election 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 re­election effort was announced. A Potent Ally Energy 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 minor­league baseball team co­owner and executive before running for attorney general. Among them was Andrew P. Miller, a patrician 81­year­old 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 Georgia­based electric utility, which has a large number of coal­burning 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 one­size­fits­all 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 6/16 strategy, a command­and­control 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 coal­burning 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 selfdetermination. 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. 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. 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 7/16 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 Arms Mr. 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 fastest­growing 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.” Oklahoma energy companies were there, according to an agenda, joined by executives from Peabody Energy of Missouri, the world’s largest private­ 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 8/16 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 energy­industry­funded law and economics center at George Mason University of Virginia. The center is part of the brain trust of conservative, pro­industry 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 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 9/16 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 follow­up 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.” 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. Follow­up 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 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 10/16 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 follow­up 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. 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 reportingonly 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. 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 11/16 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 reallife 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.” Persuading lawmakers to offer legislation has been another effective lobbying tool. In West Virginia, Mr. Miller handed Attorney General Patrick 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 12/16 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 Lines The 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: fund­raising aide. 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 13/16 “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. Fund­raising 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 fund­raising has taken place on the state level as well. Oklahoma Gas 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 14/16 & Electric — a for­profit 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 fund­raising 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 coal­burning plants. But other lawsuits are pending, including Mr. Pruitt’s challenge of the Dodd­Frank 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.” 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 15/16 Mr. Pruitt, who ran unopposed to win a second term, has not needed much of the money himself, but his fund­raising 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 12/5/2015 Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General ­ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy­firms­in­secretive­alliance­with­attorneys­general.html?r=0 16/16 Oklahoma attorney general, was taken by Dylan Hollingsworth, not by Nick Oxford. Nick Madigan contributed reporting. A version of this article appears in print on December 7, 2014, on page A1 of the New</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.alternet.org/environment/mayor-bloomberg-defending-obama-goes-after-state-attorneys-general-protecting-polluters</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Bloomberg has not been shy about using his vast personal wealth (estimated at $40.9 billion) on political spending [3]. Last year the former New York City mayor announced plans to spend $50 million building a national grassroots movement to curb gun violence. It's a significant amount, especially considering the fact that the National Rifle Association spends only $20 million [4] on political activities each year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now the perennial putative presidential candidate has set his sights on a new target: carbon emissions. Last month, he announced his plans [5] to run a series of political television ads attacking the attorneys general of four states — Florida, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin — who are suing the Obama administration over new regulations aimed at reducing emissions [6] from power plants. The attorneys general claim the rules will drive up energy costs and destroy coal industry jobs. Notably, the four states have been presidential battlegrounds.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Two of the Bloomberg ads describe the attorneys general as bending to special interests and taking donations from “polluters.” The ad airing in Michigan accuses Attorney General Bill Schuette of “putting polluters and his campaign contributors ahead [5] of protecting Michigan families.” The Florida ad describes Pam Bondi, a Republican, as “an attorney general for polluters, not for us [5].”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“These four attorneys general are trying to stop the president from doing something that I think is terribly important,” Bloomberg told [5] the New York Times. “I want the public to know what they’re doing.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The regulations, part of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan [7] (CPP), which was introduced in August, are a central element of Obama’s Climate Action Plan [8], which aims to fulfill the president’s 2009 pledge to reduce the nation’s overall greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent [8] below 2005 levels by 2020. To meet that goal, the CPP sets state-by-state targets to cut carbon emissions from the energy sector 32 percent [9] from 2005 levels by 2030.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The White House asserts that by setting the goals of CPP and allowing states to create tailored plans to meet them, there will be huge benefits for public health, the national economy and savings for average Americans. Specifically, the White House says it will create tens of thousands of jobs, lower the costs of renewable energy and save consumers $155 billion between 2020 and 2030. The CPP will also:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Prevent up to 3,600 premature deaths</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Prevent 1,700 non-fatal heart attacks</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Prevent 90,000 asthma attacks in children</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Prevent 300,000 missed workdays and school days</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Save Americans nearly $85 a year on energy bills</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Save enough energy to power 30 million homes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lead to 30 percent more renewable energy generation</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Still, the CPP has met with fierce, primarily Republican opposition, with conservative critics saying it represents an unconstitutional federal overreach, will drive up energy bills and reduce the electric grid’s reliability. The EPA has firmly dismissed these claims. Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator of the agency’s Office of Air and Radiation, said the plan is “based on a sound legal and technical foundation," adding that it "really puts states in the driver's seat [10]."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The four attorneys general who are the targets of Bloomberg's ads are fighting back. According to the New York Times, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad D. Schimel said in an email statement that Bloomberg is an “out-of-touch billionaire.” And in a statement, Florida attorney general Pam Bondi described Bloomberg as a “billionaire bully [11]”:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Florida has a great and conscientious track record of improving its air quality and protecting its environment … Now a billionaire bully is attacking Florida, and 26 other states, for having the audacity of defending their citizens against the EPA’s heavy-handed and unlawful regulations. This bully wants to defend the federal government; we want to protect the people we serve.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In her announcement [12] about the lawsuit, Bondi claimed the EPA rule sets an "unrealistic" timeframe to cut carbon emissions by 2030 and would "require the use of costly and unproven technologies."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twenty states are challenging the EPA rule in addition to the four targeted by Bloomberg: West Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, the Arizona Corporation Commission, and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Environmental concerns are not new for Bloomberg. During his tenure as mayor of New York, 2002 to 2013, he became known as one of the most environmentally minded big city mayors in the country, introducing in 2007 PLaNYC [13], an aggressive program to overhaul the city’s environmental sustainability by 2030 that tackled 10 specific areas: housing and neighborhoods, parks and public spaces, brownfields, waterways, water supply, transportation, energy, air quality, solid waste, and climate change. According to NYC.gov [14], “Over 97% of the 127 initiatives in PlaNYC were launched within one year of its release and almost two-thirds of its 2009 milestones were achieved or mostly achieved.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A main benefactor of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal [15] campaign, Bloomberg has been a longtime opponent of coal, characterizing it as a naturally dying industry. In an August op-ed, he wrote [16]:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The overblown political rhetoric about the plan tends to obscure the market reality that the coal industry has been in steady decline for a decade, partly as a result of the natural gas boom, but mostly because consumers are demanding cleaner air and action on climate change … King Coal is dying of natural causes: Market forces, technological advances, and public demands for clean air and climate action have combined to make alternative sources of energy more financially attractive. The price of new wind power, for example, is lower than that of coal in most parts of the country.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maggie Haberman of the New York Times said that Bloomberg’s new ads “amount to a defense [5] of the White House over its Clean Power Plan.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Whether this defense will work remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain: Coal is on the decline and fewer Americans are dying because of it. “A decade ago, coal pollution was killing 13,000 people a year,” Bloomberg wrote in his op-ed. “Today, the number is down to 7,500, which means that more than 5,000 Americans are living longer, healthier lives each year thanks to cleaner power [16].”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reynard Loki is AlterNet's environment and food editor. Follow him on Twitter @reynardloki [17]. Email him at reynard@alternet.org [18].</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/11/wellspring-gives-big-boost-to-judicial-crisis-network-with-6-6-million-grant/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">secretive nonprofit that has given millions of dollars to conservative 501(c)(4) groups over the years sank more than $6.6 million into the Judicial Crisis Network in 2014, giving a significant boost to a group that has become increasingly involved in not only state judicial but also attorneys general races.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The donor, the Wellspring Committee, gave out nearly $8.3 million in grants last year, according to a new filing with the IRS, more than triple what it donated the year before. The sum was more than Wellspring has given away in any year except 2010, when it sent $8.4 million to like-minded organizations. That year, though, JCN and an offshoot group received just $400,000 from Wellspring, a sliver of what it got last year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bond between the two groups is strong — familial, even. Wellspring was founded and is still headed by Ann Corkery, a lawyer who for years has been involved in conservative fundraising and also helped launch JCN. Her husband, Neil, is JCN’s treasurer. Their daughter, Kathleen, is on Wellspring’s board, and the secretary-treasurer of the group, Michael Casey, is the son of one of JCN’s board members.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wellspring received all of its 2014 revenue of $7.8 million from just three contributions — one of which was a transfer of $6.95 million, according to the annual form 990 it filed this month. Like other (c)(4) organizations, Wellspring is not required to disclose the identities of its donors. The group’s 990 says its “mission is to advance limited government and free markets.” But it functions as little more than a conduit, with no program activities of its own and virtually all of its money going out to other groups....</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">secretive nonprofit that has given millions of dollars to conservative 501(c)(4) groups over the years sank more than $6.6 million into the Judicial Crisis Network in 2014, giving a significant boost to a group that has become increasingly involved in not only state judicial but also attorneys general races.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The donor, the Wellspring Committee, gave out nearly $8.3 million in grants last year, according to a new filing with the IRS, more than triple what it donated the year before. The sum was more than Wellspring has given away in any year except 2010, when it sent $8.4 million to like-minded organizations. That year, though, JCN and an offshoot group received just $400,000 from Wellspring, a sliver of what it got last year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bond between the two groups is strong — familial, even. Wellspring was founded and is still headed by Ann Corkery, a lawyer who for years has been involved in conservative fundraising and also helped launch JCN. Her husband, Neil, is JCN’s treasurer. Their daughter, Kathleen, is on Wellspring’s board, and the secretary-treasurer of the group, Michael Casey, is the son of one of JCN’s board members.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wellspring received all of its 2014 revenue of $7.8 million from just three contributions — one of which was a transfer of $6.95 million, according to the annual form 990 it filed this month. Like other (c)(4) organizations, Wellspring is not required to disclose the identities of its donors. The group’s 990 says its “mission is to advance limited government and free markets.” But it functions as little more than a conduit, with no program activities of its own and virtually all of its money going out to other groups.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN was formed in 2005 as the Judicial Confirmation Network to help get President George W. Bush’s Supreme Court appointees approved by the Senate. After President Barack Obama was elected, though, “Confirmation” became “Crisis,” and the group began fighting to block his nominees to the high court. It also started spending large sums in some states to influence judicial and attorneys general races.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN also sent funds to other groups that worked to sway state judgeship elections, such as the Republican State Leadership Committee, which spent more money putting conservatives on the bench in more states than any other outside group in 2014, according to the nonpartisan organization Justice at Stake.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But attorneys general have been a growing focus of conservative donor groups. Carrie Severino, JCN’s chief counsel, said in 2012 that conservative AGs, many of whom have challenged Obamacare, the Dodd-Frank financial services overhaul and EPA regulations, are “emerging as key leaders in the battle for limited constitutional government.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2014 JCN gave $1 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association, making it the third largest donor to the GOP organization that year. Between mid-2013 and mid-2014 JCN also donated $1.35 million — the largest grant it handed out in that period — to another dark money group, the American Future Fund, which has its own project to elect GOP attorneys general and is also a donor toRAGA. According to RAGA’s disclosure filings, JCN gave it another $200,000 in the first half of 2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Similarly, Wellspring gave $350,000 to something called the American Dream Initiative last year — a group run by Dan Backer that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking the Democratic candidate in Texas’ 2014 attorney general race.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This fall, JCN has spent at least $200,000 on TV and digital ads criticizing Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and John Roberts, comparing them to former Justice David Souter — a Republican appointee who often sided with the more liberal wing of the court. While Roberts and Kennedy can hardly be called liberals (particularly Roberts), two of the court’s decisions last term, one upholding the Affordable Care Act and one legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, triggered widespread disgust on the right. JCN’s statement announcing the ads called Kennedy and Roberts “examples of bad GOP appointments.” The group has a website describing the judicial appointment philosophies of the Republican presidential candidates.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Our efforts to reach Wellspring and JCN for comment by phone and on foot were unsuccessful. We visited the address JCN lists on its 990 — 722 12th St. NW, fourth floor — and found only Americans for Tax Reform, the group headed by Grover Norquist that asks candidates to sign a pledge saying they won’t raise taxes. An ATR receptionist was noncommittal about whether JCN had offices in the suite but said she would get a message to someone connected with the group.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other Wellspring grants went to the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization whose executive vice president, Leonard Leo, was instrumental in getting both Wellspring and JCN off the ground, and the Catholic Association.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Categories: 501(c) groups Outside Money</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tags: american dream initiative, American Future Fund, ann corkery, carrie severino, Dan Backer, Federalist Society, Judicial Crisis Network, leonard leo, Neil Corkery, republican attorneys general association,Republican State Leadership Committee, Viveca Novak, Wellspring Committee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">abbot pruitt epa clean air plan</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1st time majority gop, backroom deals</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12/14 lipton:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Whitsitt then added, “Please pass along Devon’s thanks to Attorney General Pruitt.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Courting Favor</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Articles in this series examine the explosion in lobbying of state attorneys general by corporate interests and the millions in campaign donations they now provide.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DOCUMENT</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A Window Into a Secret Alliance: Attorneys General and the Energy Industry</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;OPEN DOCUMENT</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And it is an emerging practice that several former attorneys general say threatens the integrity of the office.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Pruitt, who has emerged as a hero to conservative activists, dismissed this criticism as misinformed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GRAPHIC</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A Letter From Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Written Almost Entirely by Energy Company Officials</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Devon 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;OPEN GRAPHIC</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A Potent Ally</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Energy 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For the energy industry, Mr. Pruitt was an easy choice.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More of Nation’s Attorneys General Are Republican</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Aided 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Party of incoming attorneys general by state, 2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Money raised by attorney general associations</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Number of attorneys general by party</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CHART</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sources: Republican and Democratic Attorneys General Associations (fund-raising numbers); Paul Nolette, department of political science, Marquette University (attorneys general by party and state)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Alicia Parlapiano</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A Call to Arms</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More liberal attorneys general, such as Douglas F. Gansler, Democrat of Maryland, did not participate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Top Individual Recipients of Energy Industry Money Since 2004</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Many 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney generals highlighted in gray</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">will be in office in 2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ATTORNEY</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GENERAL</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ELECTION</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">YEARS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PARTY</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">STATE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CONTRIBUTIONS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Abbott</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tex.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">$2,459,204</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2006, 2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Corbett</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pa.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">577,192</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2004, 2008</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ken Paxton</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tex.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">488,411</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike DeWine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">321,033</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2010, 2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Luther Strange</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ala.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">279,200</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2010, 2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gary K. King</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">N.M.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">228,018</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2006, 2010</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Pruitt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Okla.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">215,574</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2010, 2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Koster</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mo.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">202,419</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2008, 2012</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Schuette</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mich.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">190,516</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2010, 2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kenneth T.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cuccinelli II</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Va.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">174,638</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2009</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Notes: 2014 data is incomplete. Scott Pruitt was unopposed in 2014.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Source: National Institute on Money in State Politics (energy industry contributions)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Alicia Parlapiano</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oklahoma 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 SouthernCompany, which has aggressively challenged federal air pollution mandates.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And there was nothing ambiguous about the agenda.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A ‘Strike Force’</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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 byKatie 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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PATRICK MORRISEY The West Virginia attorney general got a draft bill from a coal industry lawyer.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Miller was pleased. “Just the kind of strike force I was talking about,” he said in an interview.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ANDREW P. MILLER A version of the lobbyist’s bill was approved by the West Virginia Legislature.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Company officials again expressed their pleasure to Mr. Pruitt.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The rule — which the industry claims would cost $346 million a year to comply with — has still not been issued.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HAROLD G. HAMM The oil drilling executive was the chairman of Mr. Pruitt’s re-election campaign.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It is nice to have everybody singing from the same sheet of music,” Mr. Raney said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blurred Lines</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The work in Mr. Pruitt’s office has sometimes seemed to blur the distinction between his official duties and the advancement of his political career.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ms. Drwenski wanted Devon Energy’s help in enlisting the American Petroleum Institute, and Mr. Whitsitt agreed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Oklahoma attorney general’s stay was brief. The Rule of Law campaign had a new and urgent target.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN 2014 takeover AG nev, colo (mi wi?)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys general become focus</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JCN’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 RAGA’s third-largest donor 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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 National Review 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dark money ties that bind</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The 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, when Gary 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 Wellspring helped 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.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">chart src of connections, not nec raga</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/28/us/politics/money-going-to-state-attorneys-general.html</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html?smid=tw-share</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">nyt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Continue reading the main story</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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.”...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">pruitt runs RG AG</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/07/3600475/investigation-energy-firms-attorneys-general-fighting-federal-government/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">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’ investigation 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.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Using Oklahoma as an example, open-records requests revealed that Attorney General Scott Pruitt delivered a letter to the EPA in 2011 accusing the agency of significantly overestimating the air pollution caused by fracking. Pruitt did not mention that the letter was originally written by representatives of Devon Energy, one of the state’s largest oil and gas companies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“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,” reports the Times.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Devon Energy is a major supporter of the Republican Attorneys General Association, whose mission is electing Republicans to the Office of Attorney General. The company has donated significantly to the campaigns of climate deniers, giving $800,000 to former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s gubernatorial campaign in 2013. Devon Energy also gave over a million dollars to the lobbying effort in support of the Keystone XL pipeline in 2012. Pruitt is head of the Republican Attorneys General Association, which has collected $16 million this year — nearly four times the amount it collected in 2010.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to the Times, at least a dozen states now have attorneys general working with “energy companies and other corporate interests” that are in exchange providing them with unheard of amounts of political funds. This impact of this effort can be seen in this year’s election results, as Republicans will hold 27 state attorney’s general offices starting in January — the first time they’ve had a majority in recent history.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Times reports that Devon Energy “readily turned to Mr. Pruitt and his staff for help” as part of a broader national effort bringing together powerful energy interests and attorneys general. The establishment of a new Federalism in Environmental Policy task force by the offices of 19 state attorneys general has bolstered attempts to push back on federal actions to reduce ozone pollution, protect endangered species, regulate fracking, and limit greenhouse gas emissions. The scale of this coordination with corporate interests is unprecedented.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pruitt changed 37 words out of 1,016 when repurposing a letter drafted by Devon lawyers for submission to then head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, about the agency’s methane regulations. The Times published 80-plus pages of notes and documents showing the extent to which Devon and other energy companies have been working with state attorneys general to fight federal actions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In responding to questions about his involvement with industry lobbyists, Pruitt said that “it is the content of the request not the source of the request that is relevant.” He went on to say that Devon Energy is an important energy producer and job creator for Oklahoma and that the overreach of the federal government into the regulation of fracking is not only bad for Devon, but also would negatively impact citizens of the state.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A recent study published in the journal Science found that nearly all of the more than 2,500 small earthquakes that have hit Oklahoma in the past five years can be linked to the process of drilling for oil and gas. Spills related to fracking have also threatenedwater supplies in the state.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In another recent display of the coordination between energy firms and state-level Republican politicians, this week the American Legislative Executive Council held their annual closed-door meeting in D.C. They pushed a number of anti-clean energy initiatives, including a resolution to abolish the EPA.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Alabama</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Luther Strange</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Arizona</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Horne</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Colorado</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John W. Suthers</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Florida</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pam Bondi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Georgia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sam Olens</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Idaho</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Wasden</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Indiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Zoeller</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Kansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Derek Schmidt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Louisiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Buddy Caldwell</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Michigan</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Schuette</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Montana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Fox</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Nebraska</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jon Bruning</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of North Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wayne Stenehjem</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Ohio</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike DeWine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Oklahoma</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Pruitt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of South Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alan Wilson</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of South Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marty J. Jackley</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Abbott</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney General of Utah</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sean Reyes</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of West Virginia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patrick Morrisey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Attorney General of Wisconsin</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">J.B. Van Hollen</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dark Money and Justice: Michigan is like no other state.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dark money erodes trust and confidence in impartial justice. Why does Michigan have so much dark money in elections involving the justice system?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Unreported, unregulated spending - dark money - isn't new in Michigan's state election campaigns. Beginning with the 2000 Michigan Supreme Court campaign, the Michigan Campaign Finance Network has compiled records from Michigan broadcasters and cable systems of more than $127 million* in television spending for candidate-focused advertising in statewide campaigns for state offices that was not reported to the State of Michigan. That total understates total unreported political spending because it does not include spending for radio, direct mail, robo-calls or internet advertising that is either impossible or extremely difficult to compile.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A record $42.5 million was spent for candidate-focused television advertising that was not reported to the State in 2014, including $35.2 million in the gubernatorial campaign between incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and his Democratic challenger, former congressman Mark Schauer. Only part of that which was unreported to the State was truly dark money, though. The Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association - both of which file reports of receipts and expenditures with the Internal Revenue Service - were responsible for almost $26 million of the spending in the gubernatorial campaign, and Michael Bloomberg's Independence USA superPAC, which reports financially to the Federal Election Commission, was responsible for $2.7 million. Another $930,000 was spent by the NEA Advocacy Fund and the Michigan Nurses Association, labor organizations that are required to report any contribution over $5,000 to the U.S. Department of Labor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The true dark money, whose donors were not publicly reported anywhere, totaled $13.5 million: $5.7 million in the gubernatorial, $4.7 million in the supreme court campaign and $3.1 million in the attorney general campaign. Unlike past years, when both parties and their allied supporters were serious participants, Republicans owned the category in 2014. The Michigan Democratic State Central Committee spent only $470,000 for an ad supporting its attorney general nominee Mark Totten in the Detroit media market. All the rest was in support of Republican candidates.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaign Finance Summary, 2014 Michigan Gubernatorial</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaign Finance Summary, 2014 Michigan Supreme Court</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaign Finance Summary, 2014 Michigan Attorney General</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Why be concerned about dark money?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The concern about dark money is based on a premise: Donors who make five, six or seven-figure contributions to political campaigns do not do so for selfless reasons. Donors make those contributions for considerations. When we don't know the identity of donors - whose contributions are multiples of Michigan's annual per capita income - we can't know what considerations are sought, and what considerations are granted. We can't know when ethical, even legal, lines have been crossed. Transparency is inoculation against corruption. Dark money conceals corruption.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dark money is particularly troublesome in political campaigns related to the administration of justice. Administration of justice should uphold the ideal that all citizens are equal before the law. If there are questions about unknown donors and unknowable considerations, trust and confidence in equal justice under law is undermined, and the rule of law is undermined.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The 'gray money' churn and a pardon</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Substantial amounts of spending on Michigan's 2014 political campaigns were not reported to the Michigan Bureau of Elections, but they were reported elsewhere - at least as part of large national committees that were active in state campaigns across many states. Consider that to be 'gray money,' rather than dark money. As an example of this phenomenon, consider contributions that were reported by a limited liability corporation established by Manoj Bhargava of Farmington Hills, the founder of Living Essentials, the maker of 5-hour ENERGY. In 2013-2014, ETC Capital, an investment vehicle founded by Bhargava, was the top Michigan donor to both the Republican Governors Association (RGA), at $2.8 million, and the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), at $180,000.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Top Michigan Donors to Republican Governors Association, 2013-2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Top Michigan Donors to Republican Attorneys General Association, 2013-2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a profile of Bhargava and his corporations' political spending, the Center for Public Integrity reported notable contributions to the RGA and RAGA and subsequent spending by those organizations. In 2013 ETC Capital gave the RGA $275,000.Eight weeks later the RGA gave the Michigan Republican Party $276,000. In 2014 ETC Capital gave the RGA $2.5 million and the same day the RGA placed a $3.2 million ad buy supporting Rick Snyder. Overall, the RGA spent $10 million in 2014 for ads touting Snyder, or criticizing his opponent.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Subsequent to ETC Capital's contributions to RAGA, RAGA gave $72,000 to Decider PAC, a Michigan state PAC which, in turn, gave $68,000 - the maximum legal PAC contribution - to Attorney General Bill Schuette's campaign account. The $72,000 contribution Decider PAC received from RAGA was its only income in the 2014 election cycle, yet Decider PAC reported to the Bureau of Elections that the contribution was from the Republican State Leadership Committee. RAGA also gave $70,000 to Maize and Blue PAC, which changed its name to Red and Blue PAC a week later, then gave $67,000 to Schuette's campaign account over the next eight weeks. ETC Capital also gave $125,000 to the Republican State Leadership Committee in October 2013. The RSLC gave $34,000 to Schuette's campaign committee the same day.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The month after the successful reelection of Gov. Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette, the governor granted a pardon to Alan Gocha, Jr. for a 2007 conviction for driving while impaired, thereby wiping Gocha's record clean of the offense. Gocha had been general counsel for Innovation Ventures, the parent company of Manoj Bhargava's Living Essentials, until he moved to Oakland Law Group, which was spun off from Innovation Ventures as a separate professional limited liability corporation - whose principal client is Innovation Ventures. Gocha had exhausted his legal appeals for the conviction, and his 2012 application to the State parole board for a pardon was put on the "back burner," according to Russ Marlan, deputy director of the Michigan Department of Corrections. Gocha's 2014 pardon was one of only 11 granted by Snyder so far in his term as governor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CPI's profile of Bhargava and his political spending, which was released the day before Associated Press reporter David Eggert broke the story detailing Gov. Snyder's pardon of Gocha, featured a notable quote about Bhargava by former Michigan Republican Party chairman Ron Weiser: "What was strange is he never asked for anything back. Usually people want something."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It would require extreme credulity to make such a statement after looking at the larger picture of the 2014 election cycle and the pardon of Alan Gocha. ETC Capital's contributions to the RGA, RAGA and RSLC were substantial, and those committees' spending in support of the governor and attorney general, in turn, was substantial. It is difficult to imagine a credible claim that the governor and the attorney general were unaware of the RGA, RAGA and RSLC's support of their campaigns, and ETC Capital's substantial support of those national committees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The spending by ETC Capital was byzantine, but it can be tracked through public records. What should be of even greater concern is the fact that absolutely undisclosed donors used Republican Party vehicles to spend four times as much as ETC Capital contributed on the record. The public has no idea who those donors were, or what considerations they sought, or what considerations were, or will be, granted.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2014 Supreme Court campaign: A new chapter in a checkered history</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michigan's Supreme Court campaigns have earned a reputation as some of the most expensive and caustic judicial campaigns in the nation. In the series, The New Politics of Judicial Elections, published by the Brennan Center for Justice, Justice at Stake and the National Institute for Money in State Politics, Michigan's Supreme Court campaigns in 2010 and 2012 are identified as the most expensive in the nation. The 2014 report will show that streak extended to a third consecutive election cycle.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Two things were different about the 2014 campaign: There were no attack ads, and, unlike the last the last three elections, only the Republican nominees for the court were supported by dark money television advertising.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Unreported Television Spending by Party/Allies, Michigan Supreme Court Campaigns, 2000-2014</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Detroit News editorialist Nolan Finley wrote 10 weeks before the election about a detente between the political parties and their supporters: "After a string of bitterly contested and hugely expensive court campaigns, Republicans and Democrats have called a truce this go round. The two parties have forged a deal to assure their favored candidates make it through the election unscathed."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Finley wrote that Republicans wanted to assure election of incumbent Justices Brian Zahra and David Viviano, and Democrats wanted a sure win for Richard Bernstein. Viviano was paired against circuit court Judge Deborah Thomas for a two-year term to complete the term to which Viviano had been appointed after the resignation of former Justice Diane Hathaway. Zahra and circuit court Judge James Robert Redford were paired against Bernstein and Court of Appeals Judge William Murphy for two eight-year terms.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The election results followed the script that Finley described: Bernstein, Viviano and Zahra were elected by comfortable margins. The campaign finance profiles for the candidates were extremely different.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Bernstein's campaign was largely self-funded with the candidate providing more than $1.85 million out of his campaign total of $2,263,000. Justices Zahra and Viviano each raised more than $900,000, largely through 23 joint fundraising events. Among the unsuccessful candidates, Redford raised $426,000, Murphy raised $390,000 and Thomas raised $78,500.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Independent spending was divergent along party lines. Independent spenders reported expenditures totaling $716,000 in support of the Republican nominees, while just $8,500 was reported in support of the Democratic nominees. More significantly, the Michigan Republican Party spent $4.2 million and the Center for Individual Freedom spent $468,000 for unreported dark money television advertisements supporting the Republican nominees. There was no dark money television spending in support of the Democratic nominees. Even though there was an apparent detente, anonymous donors couldn't resist getting involved on the Republican side.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The dark money spending in Michigan Supreme Court campaigns has been a recurring presence since the 2000 election. In the campaigns to fill 18 seats from 2000 through 2014, over half of all verifiable spending was for unreported television advertising, the records of which MCFN compiled from the public files of television broadcasters and cable systems. Of the $70.96 million total, candidate committees accounted for $23.9 million (33.7%), reported independent expenditures were $7.7 million (10.8%) and unreported television advertisements were $39.4 million (55.4%). Unreported radio and direct mail spending would certainly add millions to the dark money total.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michigan Supreme Court Campaign Finance Summary, 1984-2014, Table</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michigan Supreme Court Campaign Finance Summary, 1984-2014, Graphical</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Access to Michigan Supreme Court campaign finance summaries by election cycle; with representative unreported ads.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Threat to impartial justice</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The undisclosed spending is a direct threat to impartial justice. From a practical standpoint, no one has a greater incentive to spend millions of dollars to elect a Supreme Court justice than an interest group or individual with a high stakes case in the appeals pipeline. While those interest groups or individuals have a First Amendment right to spend their millions to help elect a judge, they don't necessarily have a right to have their chosen judge decide a case in which they are a party. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Caperton v. Massey Coal Company (2009) that a judge participating in a case involving his or her major campaign finance supporter violates the opposing litigant's due process right to an impartial court hearing. In such a case, the judge must recuse him or herself from the case.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The millions of dollars of dark money television spending represent the potential for numerous Caperton-type problems. In the 2012 Michigan Supreme Court campaign, which was the nadir for campaign accountability, candidate committees and reported independent expenditures totaled $5 million. Unreported dark money television spending totaled $14 million. With nearly three-fourths of all spending off-the-books, the threat to due process is great and persistent.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bogus premise of issue advocacy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The basis for allowing tens of millions of dollars-worth of candidate-focused advertising to pass without disclosure is the fanciful notion that the advertisements are issue advocacy. In Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc(2007), the case that rolled back the McCain-Feingold prohibition against corporate spending for issue advocacy in the weeks immediately before a federal election, Chief Justice John Roberts distinguished authentic issue advocacy from the functional equivalent of express advocacy:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"First, their content is consistent with that of a genuine issue ad: The ads focus on a legislative issue, take a position on the issue, exhort the public to adopt that position, and urge the public to contact public officials with respect to the matter. Second, their content lacks indicia of express advocacy: The ads do mention an election, candidacy, political party or challenger; and they do not take a position on a candidate's character, qualifications or fitness for office."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. 551 U.S. 449 (2007) at 470.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">James Bopp, counsel for Wisconsin Right to Life in FEC v WRTL, said in his brief for the case that issue advocacy is grassroots lobbying.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The very idea of issue advocacy in a judicial campaign fails completely. At least in Michigan, judges are not lobbyable officials. Advocacy with the judge occurs in the courtroom, not over the airwaves.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The most frequently played ad from the 2014 campaign talked about judging judges, but not voting for the Republican Party's slate of judges. The ad - sponsored by the Michigan Republican Party and starring the candidates - passes as a non-campaign expenditure, because it does not have the words "vote" or "elect" in its message about judging who are Michigan's best judges</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Democrat Andy Beshear and Republican Whitney Westerfield are the men publicly running to be Kentucky's next attorney general. But behind the scenes, scores of corporations, wealthy businessmen, lawyers, lobbyists and labor unions have given several million dollars to two independent groups loosely affiliated with the Democratic and Republican parties, which are spending that money on a barrage of attack ads meant to influence voters.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Many donors hedge their bets, not knowing who will win. Among those giving heavily to independent groups on both sides of the attorney general's race — simultaneously underwriting attacks on Beshear and Westerfield — are 21st Century Fox, the American Gaming Association, Golden Living nursing homes, Duke Energy, distiller Brown-Forman, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the American Petroleum Institute, eBay, the American Beverage Association, discount cigarette maker XCaliber International, brewer Anheuser Busch and Monster Energy caffeine drinks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The deep-pocketed donors, mostly from outside Kentucky, have an interest in not getting sued or prosecuted by attorneys general representing the 50 states. This fall, they can focus their efforts on the three states choosing a top lawyer in this off-year election: Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Golden Living, for instance, based in Plano, Texas, gave $25,000 each this year to both of the independent groups involved in Kentucky's attorney general's race. The company is no stranger to statehouse legal problems. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is targeting its nursing homes in her state for allegedly failing to provide basic services to elderly residents, a charge the company denies. In 2013, the company agreed to pay $613,300 to settle claims of "inadequate and worthless wound care services to residents" brought by the state of Georgia and the U.S. Department of Justice.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Golden Living fraudulently billed Medicaid for nursing services which were substandard and, tragically, resulted in harm to patients," Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens said at that time.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Money flows from these contributors to two national groups, neither of which is allowed by law to coordinate with its favored candidate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Republican Attorneys General Association is running ads that say Beshear would do the bidding of his "special-interest" campaign donors and Democratic President Barack Obama, who is hugely unpopular in Kentucky. The Bluegrass Alliance for Consumer Rights — largely funded by the Democratic Attorneys General Association — is airing a commercial that shows a man in a bathrobe, supposedly Westerfield, enjoying a pedicure and a facial at a spa instead of doing his duty prosecuting criminals.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Beshear and Westerfield have complained about the accuracy of attacks made by the independent groups, while each insists he has no control over the independent group assailing his opponent.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Democratic group said it bought $630,000 of television air time on Oct. 5. The Republican group reported spending $2.2 million in Kentucky as of Oct. 2. More money could come in the campaign's final weeks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Most of the donors give $10,000 to $50,000 per contribution, with some giving multiple times. In exchange, donors get to meet the state attorneys general and their top legal aides at private conferences organized by the independent groups throughout the year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Last June, for example, the Republican Attorneys General Association hosted its summer meeting at a luxury oceanfront resort in San Diego, according to conference documents available online. Eighteen attorneys general and seven candidates for attorney general spent the weekend golfing, dining, holding campaign fund-raisers and attending business-friendly panel discussions. They were joined by hundreds of executives from banks, payday lenders, tobacco companies, health insurers and technology firms, among many others who paid the RAGA for the access.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For $10,000, "gold sponsor" donors were promised admission to "the private appreciation dinner" with attorneys general at last year's three national RAGA meetings. For $50,000, donors got that same deal, plus admission to even more intimate "host committee dinners" at national meetings, and an "annual opportunity to lead private briefings with Republican attorneys general."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The two attorneys general groups did not return calls last week seeking comment on their Kentucky efforts.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Several U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 2010 allow donors, including corporations and unions, to make unlimited payments to such independent groups. Much of this can be passed along anonymously as "dark money" by organizations that can conceal who funds them. For instance, the conservative group Judicial Crisis Network gave $100,000 on June 1 to the RAGA; because of the way it's organized, it does not have to explain its funding.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We're seeing these outside groups getting involved more and more in state races, even in down-ticket state races and state legislative races," said Jordan Libowitz of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"It's particularly bad with an attorney general's race, because then you've got these conflict-of-interest concerns given the very nature of what an attorney general does," Libowitz said. "He's supposed to be the attorney for the people. But these same corporations who get to do back-door lobbying with the attorney general with big campaign donations often have business before the attorney general's office."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">oct 2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article42644670.html</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article42644670.html#storylink=cpy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div>