Gansler ag

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</div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Libre Baskerville"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Former Maryland attorney general Douglas F. Gansler (D) has jumped law firms.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Libre Baskerville"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, an international firm with a handful of offices, announced Monday that Gansler has joined the firm as a partner in the Global Litigation Group and the White Collar Defense and Investigations practice in Washington, D.C.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Libre Baskerville"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gansler will head Cadwalader’s State Attorneys General practice. He joins the firm from Buckley LLP, where he was a partner.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Libre Baskerville"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gansler was attorney general from 2007-2015 and lost a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014. He previously served eight years as Montgomery County state’s attorney, and also worked for the U.S. Justice Department.</div><div>=
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</div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler</a></div><div>
</div><div>Douglas Friend Gansler (born October 30, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 45th <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Maryland" title="Attorney General of Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Attorney General of Maryland</a>. Gansler previously served as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State%27s_Attorney" class="mw-redirect" title="State's Attorney" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">State's Attorney</a> for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_County,Maryland" title="Montgomery County, Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Montgomery County, Maryland</a> from 1999 to 2007. He won nomination in the state <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Democratic</a> primary election for Attorney General and defeated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Republican</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Rolle" title="Scott Rolle" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Scott Rolle</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Maryland_Attorney_General_election" title="2006 Maryland Attorney General election" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">2006 general election</a>, taking 61% of the vote.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[1]</a> He was re-elected unopposed in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Maryland_Attorney_General_election" title="2010 Maryland Attorney General election" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">2010 election</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[2]</a> Gansler lost the Democratic Primary race for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Maryland" title="Governor of Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Governor of Maryland</a> on June 24, 2014 to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_G.Brown" title="Anthony G. Brown" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Anthony G. Brown</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-WaPo-Running-mate-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[3]</a></div><div>
<div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table;"><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Early_life,education,and_legal_career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Early life, education, and legal career</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Political_career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Political career</a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#State's_Attorney_for_Montgomery_County" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.1State's Attorney for Montgomery County</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Attorney_General_of_Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2Attorney General of Maryland</a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Environmental_protection" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.1Environmental protection</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Consumer_protection" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.2Consumer protection</a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-4 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Home_ownership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.2.1Home ownership</a></li><li class="toclevel-4 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Affordable_healthcare" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.2.2Affordable healthcare</a></li><li class="toclevel-4 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Internet_privacy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.2.3Internet privacy</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Public_safety" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.3Public safety</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Civil_rights" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.4Civil rights</a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-4 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Same-sex_marriage" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.4.1Same-sex marriage</a></li><li class="toclevel-4 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Gun_control" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2.4.2Gun control</a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Maryland_Co-Chair,Obama_Presidential_Campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.3Maryland Co-Chair, Obama Presidential Campaign</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#President_of_the_National_Association_of_Attorneys_General" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.4President of the National Association of Attorneys General</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#2014_gubernatorial_race" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.52014 gubernatorial race</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Controversies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.6Controversies</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#Personal_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Personal life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Early life, education, and legal career[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Early life, education, and legal career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h2>Born in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit,New_Jersey" title="Summit, New Jersey" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Summit, New Jersey</a>, Gansler grew up in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevy_Chase,Maryland" title="Chevy Chase, Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chevy Chase</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_County,Maryland" title="Montgomery County, Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Montgomery County</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland" title="Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Maryland</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a> There he attended Chevy Chase Elementary School, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidwell_Friends_School" title="Sidwell Friends School" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sidwell Friends School</a>, a private Quaker school in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,D.C." title="Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Washington, D.C.</a> area, for grades 6–12. From Sidwell, Gansler went to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University" title="Yale University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yale University</a>. He was an All-Ivy, All–New England College <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse" title="Lacrosse" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">lacrosse</a> player, and nurtured an interest in public service, graduating <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum_laude" class="mw-redirect" title="Cum laude" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">cum laude</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-spoke-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a> Gansler earned a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_degree" title="Law degree" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">law degree</a> from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law" title="University of Virginia School of Law" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">University of Virginia School of Law</a>. He was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_clerk" title="Law clerk" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">law clerk</a> to Hon. John F. McAuliffe, Judge on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Court_of_Appeals" title="Maryland Court of Appeals" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Maryland Court of Appeals</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-bio-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a>After working for a brief period as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate_lawyer" class="mw-redirect" title="Real estate lawyer" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">real estate lawyer</a> at a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_company" class="mw-redirect" title="Title company" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">title company</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-spoke-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a> and at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_firm" title="Law firm" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">law firms</a> of Coburn & Schertler and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howrey%26_Simon" class="mw-redirect" title="Howrey & Simon" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Howrey & Simon</a>, Gansler was hired as an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistant_U.S.Attorney" class="mw-redirect" title="Assistant U.S. Attorney" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Assistant U.S. Attorney</a>, serving from 1992 to 1998. There he prosecuted, among others, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia(country)" title="Georgia (country)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Georgian</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomat" title="Diplomat" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">diplomat</a> who killed a young woman while driving drunk near <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupont_Circle" title="Dupont Circle" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dupont Circle</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-bio-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Political career[</h2><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">State's Attorney for Montgomery County[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: State's Attorney for Montgomery County" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h3>In 1998, Gansler was elected State's Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland, serving from January 1999 to January 2007. While serving, he prosecuted several high-profile cases, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway_snipers" class="mw-redirect" title="Beltway snipers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Beltway snipers</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muhammad" class="mw-redirect" title="John Muhammad" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">John Muhammad</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Boyd_Malvo" title="Lee Boyd Malvo" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Lee Boyd Malvo</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-gazette.net-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a> Under his leadership, the office was the first in the nation to fully implement community prosecution.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a> Gansler also launched innovative and successful programs to fight gangs, punish criminals, and protect the public, including the first domestic violence dockets and first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_courts" class="mw-redirect" title="Drug courts" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">drug courts</a> in the county, a first-in-the-state gang prosecution unit, the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Abuse" class="mw-redirect" title="Elder Abuse" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Elder Abuse</a> Task Force in Maryland to target criminals preying on seniors, and the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_crime" class="mw-redirect" title="Internet crime" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Internet crime</a> unit in the state.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-bio-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a>On one occasion, the Maryland Court of Appeals <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctions(law)" title="Sanctions (law)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">sanctioned</a> him for public statements he made about a possible confession and possible <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plea" title="Plea" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">plea</a> in a high-profile case involving the beating and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder" title="Murder" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">murder</a> of a Maryland jogger.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a> He was the first elected State's Attorney to be sanctioned by the court.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-dailyRecord13Nov2003-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a> Maryland Judge Lynne Battaglia wrote at the time, "On numerous occasions, Gansler spoke outside of court about matters that had a substantial likelihood of depriving several criminal defendants of fair trials." <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a><table class="box-Advert plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Advert" role="presentation" style="margin: 0px 104.137px; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 10px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(162, 169, 177) rgb(162, 169, 177) rgb(162, 169, 177) rgb(242, 133, 0); border-image: initial; background-color: rgb(251, 251, 251);"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image" style="border: none; padding: 2px 0px 2px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><div style="width: 52px;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/40px-Ambox_important.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/60px-Ambox_important.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/80px-Ambox_important.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="40" data-file-height="40" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></div></td><td class="mbox-text" style="border: none; padding: 0.25em 0.5em; width: 744.4px;"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article contains content that is written like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_soapbox_or_means_of_promotion" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">an advertisement</a>. Please help <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none !important; padding: 0px !important;">improve it</a> by removing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">promotional content</a> and inappropriate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links#Advertising_and_conflicts_of_interest" title="Wikipedia:External links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">external links</a>, and by adding encyclopedic content written from a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">neutral point of view</a>. (January 2014) (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Learn how and when to remove this template message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table>In ordering the reprimand, the court concluded, "A reported reprimand satisfactorily communicates to Gansler and other [attorneys] that improper extrajudicial statements dangerously jeopardize the foundational principles of our system of criminal justice."Some legal commentators said that the Court of Appeals’ decision would have a chilling effect on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_safety" class="mw-redirect" title="Public safety" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">public safety</a> and the public's right to know. They said that the decision failed to account for prosecutors’ responsibility to report to the public on prosecutions they carry.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Attorney General of Maryland[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Attorney General of Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h3>
Gansler was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election" title="Election" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">elected</a> to a second term on November 2, 2010, receiving 1.3 million votes.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-maryland1-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a> In that election, he was the only statewide candidate in the nation to run unopposed in both the primary and general elections.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-maryland1-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a>Gansler was elected as Maryland Attorney General in 2006, taking the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_office" title="Oath of office" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">oath of office</a> as Attorney General of Maryland on January 2, 2007.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-maryland1-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a> While in office, he focused on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_protection" title="Environmental protection" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">environmental protection</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_protection" title="Consumer protection" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">consumer protection</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_safety" class="mw-redirect" title="Public safety" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">public safety</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights" class="mw-redirect" title="Civil rights" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">civil rights</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-maryland1-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a> He prosecuted polluters of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay" title="Chesapeake Bay" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chesapeake Bay</a>, protected consumers from various forms of fraud, and safeguarded the public from gangs, violent crime, and the so-called underbelly of the Internet.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-maryland1-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a><h4 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Environmental protection[</h4>Gansler protected the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay" title="Chesapeake Bay" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Chesapeake Bay</a>, its tributaries, and Maryland's other natural resources. He secured the largest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_quality" class="mw-redirect" title="Air quality" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">air quality</a> settlement of its kind in the history of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">United States</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[15]</a> a Maryland history-making water pollution penalty,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[16]</a> the largest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_penalty" title="Civil penalty" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">civil penalty</a> ever levied for an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_spill" title="Oil spill" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">oil spill</a> in Maryland,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[17]</a> and the largest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos" title="Asbestos" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">asbestos</a> penalty in Maryland history.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[18]</a> He also secured $500,000 for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_quality" title="Water quality" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">water quality</a> monitoring from an energy company that spilled <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing" title="Hydraulic fracturing" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">hydraulic fracturing</a> fluid into a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tributary" title="Tributary" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">tributary</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susquehanna_River" title="Susquehanna River" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Susquehanna River</a>, which feeds the Bay.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[19]</a> Gansler conducted an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audit" title="Audit" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">audit</a> of the Bay's tributaries on a quarterly basis to identify polluters and take appropriate action.Gansler also led the successful charge to have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphates" class="mw-redirect" title="Phosphates" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">phosphates</a> banned from dishwasher detergent<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a> and arsenic banned from chicken feed,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a> and helped secure standing for environmental groups to sue polluters in State court.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a>Gansler successfully championed energy solutions to strengthen the state economy while helping the environment, such as hotel room key cards that cut the lights and automatically reduce <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_consumption" title="Energy consumption" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">energy consumption</a> when an occupant leaves a hotel room, lowering hotels' energy bills in the process.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a> He also laid the groundwork for the construction of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_plant" class="mw-redirect" title="Power plant" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">power plant</a> to convert 500 million pounds of chicken manure into energy, potentially keeping the single largest source of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen" title="Nitrogen" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">nitrogen</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus" title="Phosphorus" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">phosphorus</a> out of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay" title="Chesapeake Bay" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Chesapeake Bay</a>, while providing Maryland <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers" class="mw-redirect" title="Farmers" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">farmers</a> with an additional source of revenue.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a><h4 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Consumer protection[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=6&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Consumer protection" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h4>Gansler fought various forms of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud" title="Fraud" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">fraud</a> that threatened <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_ownership" class="mw-redirect" title="Home ownership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">home ownership</a>, contributed to the cost of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare" class="mw-redirect" title="Healthcare" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">healthcare</a>, and undermined citizens' financial security and well-being. This work included an agreement with all the major <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_rental" title="Car rental" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">car rental</a> companies to end usurious refueling rates,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a> and a settlement with all four major <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless" title="Wireless" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">wireless</a> carriers requiring disclosure of the terms of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_phone" class="mw-redirect" title="Cell phone" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">cell phone</a> insurance, potentially saving Marylanders over $40 million and Americans over $2.4 billion.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a><h5 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Home ownership[</h5>In a fight against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortgage_fraud" title="Mortgage fraud" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">mortgage fraud</a>, Gansler recovered nearly $1 billion in relief and assistance for Maryland homeowners.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[27]</a> He was aggressive in going after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory" class="mw-redirect" title="Predatory" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">predatory</a> lenders,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[28]</a> foreclosure scammers,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[29]</a> unscrupulous contractors,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[30]</a> and others who made home ownership difficult.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[31]</a> His efforts recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for consumer victims.<h5 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Affordable healthcare[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=8&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Affordable healthcare" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h5>Gansler worked to keep consumers safe from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare" class="mw-redirect" title="Healthcare" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">healthcare</a> scams. This work included the largest recovery in a healthcare fraud investigation in U.S. history against a major <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_company" class="mw-redirect" title="Pharmaceutical company" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">pharmaceutical company</a> that illegally marketed drugs at the expense of consumer safety.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a> It also included multimillion-dollar victories against healthcare providers who abused <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid" title="Medicaid" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Medicaid</a> at taxpayers’ expense,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a> and others that preyed on the infirm.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a> Gansler also advocated for better healthcare options for Marylanders, both through his Health Education and Advocacy Unit,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a> and through his leadership in supporting broader healthcare solutions like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Affordable Care Act</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a>To promote the health and safety of Maryland <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teens" class="mw-redirect" title="Teens" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">teens</a>, Gansler led the effort to limit youth access to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol(drug)" title="Alcohol (drug)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">alcohol</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco" title="Tobacco" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">tobacco</a> by combating the marketing practices of alcohol and tobacco companies that target younger consumers.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a> This work led to an agreement with two of the largest alcohol manufacturers to stop the production and distribution of alcoholic "energy" drinks,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a> as well as an agreement with one of the largest gas station franchises in the world to curb tobacco sales to minors at its 13,000 outlets across the United States.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a><h5 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Internet privacy[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=9&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Internet privacy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h5>Recognizing that rapid developments in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_technology" class="mw-redirect" title="Internet technology" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Internet technology</a> and enterprise have created new and significant <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy" title="Privacy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">privacy</a> risks for both <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumers" class="mw-redirect" title="Consumers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">consumers</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporations" class="mw-redirect" title="Corporations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">corporations</a>, Gansler led state and national efforts to protect <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_privacy" class="mw-redirect" title="Online privacy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">online privacy</a>. For example, he led a charge by 36 state attorneys general to demand accountability from the nation's largest provider of Internet services when it unilaterally changed its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_policy" title="Privacy policy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">privacy policy</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[40]</a> He also brought an action against a major retailer for an online breach that led to the theft of consumer credit card data from 100 million transactions.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[41]</a><h4 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Public safety[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=10&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Public safety" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h4>Gansler established the first-ever Attorney General <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang" title="Gang" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gang</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecution" class="mw-redirect" title="Prosecution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Prosecution</a> Unit in Maryland.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[42]</a> Gansler co-chaired the statewide <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Trafficking" class="mw-redirect" title="Human Trafficking" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Human Trafficking</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_Force" class="mw-redirect" title="Task Force" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Task Force</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[43]</a> and spearheaded tougher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_violence" title="Domestic violence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">domestic violence</a> laws through his role as Co-Chair of Maryland's Family Violence Council.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-44" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[44]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-45" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[45]</a>Gansler also established a statewide <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_safety" title="Internet safety" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Internet safety</a> initiative focused on school-aged children,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-46" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[46]</a> shut down an online anonymous gossip site being used to torment young students, helped eliminate the online <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime" title="Crime" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">illegal</a> adult services section of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craigslist" title="Craigslist" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Craigslist</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-47" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[47]</a> and worked on a nationally coordinated effort targeting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_predators" class="mw-redirect" title="Sexual predators" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">sexual predators</a> who use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking" class="mw-redirect" title="Social networking" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">social networking</a> websites to lure victims. Tens of thousands of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_predators" class="mw-redirect" title="Sexual predators" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">sexual predators</a> were removed from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking" class="mw-redirect" title="Social networking" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">social networking</a> sites as a result of this effort.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-48" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[48]</a> For this work, he received the Champion of Online Safety Award.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-49" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[49]</a><h4 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Civil rights[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=11&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Civil rights" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h4>Gansler demonstrated a long-standing commitment to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights" class="mw-redirect" title="Civil rights" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">civil rights</a> in his creation of the first-ever Director of Civil Rights position in the Office of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General" class="mw-redirect" title="Attorney General" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Attorney General</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-50" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[50]</a> He set up a Voting Irregularities <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_Force" class="mw-redirect" title="Task Force" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Task Force</a> to address <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_suppression" title="Voter suppression" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">voter suppression</a> issues in Maryland,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-51" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[51]</a> and a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_campaign" title="Political campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Campaign</a> Finance Advisory Committee to explore ways to ensure fair participation in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral" class="mw-redirect" title="Electoral" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">electoral</a> process.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-52" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[52]</a> He also published a report providing guidance on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taser" title="Taser" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">taser</a> training protocols that is being used nationally by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement" title="Law enforcement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">law enforcement</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-53" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[53]</a> and a report that assists Maryland's institutions of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_education" title="Higher education" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">higher education</a> in legally developing and maintaining diversity.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-54" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[54]</a> He worked for judicial election <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform" title="Reform" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">reform</a> that would ensure diversity of the bench.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-55" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[55]</a> For this work, as well as his successful efforts to increase diversity both in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_County,Maryland" title="Montgomery County, Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Montgomery County</a> State's Attorney's Office and the Office of the Attorney General, Gansler was awarded the Dr. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,Jr." class="mw-redirect" title="Martin Luther King, Jr." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a> Dream Keeper's Award.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-56" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[56]</a><h5 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Same-sex marriage[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=12&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Same-sex marriage" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h5>Gansler was the first statewide elected official in Maryland to support <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Maryland" title="Same-sex marriage in Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">marriage equality</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-57" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[57]</a> In 2010, Gansler issued a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_opinion" title="Legal opinion" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">legal opinion</a> that clarified Maryland's ability to provide <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_faith_and_credit" class="mw-redirect" title="Full faith and credit" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">full faith and credit</a> to valid out-of-state <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage" title="Same-sex marriage" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">same-sex marriages</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-58" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[58]</a> That opinion provided the underpinning for a subsequent Maryland Court of Appeals <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_v.Cowan" class="mw-redirect" title="Port v. Cowan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">decision</a> recognizing same-sex marriages from other states.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-59" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[59]</a> For his early and strong support of marriage equality, Gansler received the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Campaign" title="Human Rights Campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Human Rights Campaign</a>’s Ally for Equality Award.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-60" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[60]</a><h5 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gun control[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=13&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Gun control" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h5>Gansler was a proponent of the Maryland State Police requirement for concealed carry permits, which states that a citizen must have a good and substantial reason in order to acquire the permit.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-61" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[61]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Maryland Co-Chair, Obama Presidential Campaign[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=14&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Maryland Co-Chair, Obama Presidential Campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h3>During the 2008 presidential election, Gansler was the first statewide official in Maryland to support <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Barack Obama</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-62" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[62]</a> and went on to be the Maryland Co-Chair, with Representative <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Cummings" title="Elijah Cummings" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Elijah Cummings</a>, of Obama’s Presidential Campaign.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-63" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[63]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6;">President of the National Association of Attorneys General[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doug_Gansler&action=edit&section=15&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: President of the National Association of Attorneys General" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h3>Gansler was elected to serve as President of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Attorneys_General" title="National Association of Attorneys General" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Association of Attorneys General</a> (NAAG) in 2012.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-64" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[64]</a> He served as Chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-65" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a> until becoming President-Elect at the NAAG. He also chaired NAAG committees on Youth Access to Alcohol, the Environment and Energy.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-66" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[66]</a>As President of NAAG, Gansler focused the organization’s attention on privacy in the Digital Age.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-67" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a> He formed a Committee on Internet Privacy at NAAG to keep close watch on developments in the Internet space that affect consumers’ control over their information, and headed several efforts to hold accountable those who fail to properly respect <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_privacy" title="Consumer privacy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">consumer privacy</a> online. He called attention to companies that collect information from children in ways that appear out of compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">2014 gubernatorial race[</h3><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Maryland_gubernatorial_election" title="2014 Maryland gubernatorial election" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2014 Maryland gubernatorial election</a></div>Gansler formally announced his candidacy in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_gubernatorial_election,2014" class="mw-redirect" title="Maryland gubernatorial election, 2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Maryland's 2014 Gubernatorial race</a> to succeed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_O%27Malley" title="Martin O'Malley" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Martin O'Malley</a>, who was term limited, on September 24, 2013.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-69" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[69]</a> Gansler had a warchest of $5.2m and said that he was "flattered by the depth and breadth of support I have received from all corners of Maryland".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-70" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[70]</a> Gansler was criticized by a Maryland veterans organization for suggesting that his leading opponent in the Democratic primary, Maryland Lt Gov. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_G.Brown" title="Anthony G. Brown" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Anthony G. Brown</a>, a former US Army Reserve <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel" title="Colonel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Colonel</a>, was "somebody who has never managed anybody, never run anything", as a result of his service.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-wp0422-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a> Gansler later explained that his comments were specifically in reference to managing the state's health exchange.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-wp0422-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a> Brown won the Democratic primary, but was defeated by the Republican Party candidate in an upset in the general election.<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Controversies[</h3><ul style="list-style-image: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" skins.vector.styles="skins.vector.styles" images="images" bullet-icon.svg="bullet-icon.svg" d4515="d4515" margin="margin" em="em" px="px" padding="padding" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In November 2002, Gansler irritated colleagues when he filed charges in Maryland against the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway_snipers" class="mw-redirect" title="Beltway snipers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Beltway snipers</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muhammad" class="mw-redirect" title="John Muhammad" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">John Muhammad</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Boyd_Malvo" title="Lee Boyd Malvo" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Lee Boyd Malvo</a>, who were also being prosecuted in Virginia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a> More than a year after the snipers had been convicted in Virginia, Gansler held a trial in Maryland. Gansler states that the trial only cost taxpayers $2,000, however Sheriff Raymond M. Kight said that the costs had exceeded $743,570, when taking into account costs such as overtime pay to provide security throughout the trial process.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-gazette.net-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In November 2003, Gansler became the first sitting prosecutor in Maryland history to be censured by the state's highest court, for improperly discussing evidence, such as a defendant's confession, at news conferences "on more than one occasion", related to three criminal cases.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_Magazine" class="mw-redirect" title="Slate Magazine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Slate Magazine</a> described him as a "near-perfect specimen of a classic political archetype—the prosecutor on the make," noting that "[h]e's smart, he's well-connected, he's telegenic, and he raises gobs of cash."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-76" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[76]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In August 2013, Gansler was tape-recorded speaking disparagingly of his Democratic primary opponent in the 2014 Maryland gubernatorial race, Lt. Gov. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_G.Brown" title="Anthony G. Brown" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Anthony G. Brown</a>, who he accused of relying on race in the contest.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-77" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[77]</a> "I mean, right now his campaign slogan is, 'Vote for me, I want to be the first African American governor of Maryland,'" Gansler said. His comments provoked outrage.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">On October 12, 2013, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post" title="The Washington Post" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Washington Post</a> published memos written by state troopers alleging that Gansler repeatedly requested officers assigned to him to drive in an irresponsible manner.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-78" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[78]</a> A spokesperson for Gansler denied the reports.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">On October 24, 2013, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Journal" title="National Journal" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Journal</a> published a photo showing Gansler at a house party attended by his son in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethany_Beach,Delaware" title="Bethany Beach, Delaware" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bethany Beach, Delaware</a>, where underage drinking was taking place.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-79" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[79]</a> In response, Gansler said he was there briefly, did not notice any underage drinking, and that even if he had, he did not have "moral authority over other people's children" outside Maryland.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-80" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[80]</a> Gansler later said that in hindsight, he should have assumed there was underage drinking and should have discussed it with the chaperones.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-81" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[81]</a></li></ul><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Personal life[</h2>
Gansler's father, the late Jacques (Jack) Gansler, was Professor of Public Policy at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Maryland" class="mw-redirect" title="University of Maryland" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">University of Maryland</a>, College Park and former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Secretary_of_Defense" class="mw-redirect" title="Under Secretary of Defense" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Under Secretary of Defense</a> for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.Gansler is married to Laura Leedy Gansler, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securities" class="mw-redirect" title="Securities" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">securities</a> lawyer and author about legal cases.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-82" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[82]</a> He coaches both his sons, Sam and Will, in a variety of sports.Gansler founded a lacrosse league for Baltimore inner-city youth, called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charm_City" class="mw-redirect" title="Charm City" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Charm City</a> Youth Lacrosse.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-83" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[83]</a> He mentored at-risk area youth, served on the Montgomery County Commission on Aging, and co-chaired the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP" title="NAACP" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">NAACP</a> Criminal Justice Committee.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-84" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[84]</a> For his work in establishing the Charm City Youth Lacrosse League, he received the “Innovator of the Year” award from Maryland's largest legal publication.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gansler#cite_note-85" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[85]</a><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: both;"><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">References</h2><div>
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</div><div>mARCH 29, 2018 | KATIE BROWN AND SPENCER WALRATH</div><div class="article-info w-clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 15px; border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(199, 199, 199); text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="sharethis-inline-share-buttonz" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div><div class="content-container w-clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: justify;">Last year, EID <a href="https://www.energyindepth.org/one-year-after-standing-by-al-gore-new-york-ag-has-little-to-show-for-exxonknew-campaign/?154" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">observed</a> how the infamous AGs United for Clean Power press conference on March 29, 2016, had generated nothing substantive one year later. It is now the two year anniversary, and the situation has not changed: the bluster and media hype is still just bluster and hype. The lack of action is newsworthy, but it’s also hard to report on things that didn’t happen. So we’re just reposting our coverage from last year, with a few small edits.On March 29, 2016, a coalition of nearly 20 state attorneys general held a press conference to announce a joint campaign to investigate and prosecute ExxonMobil, based on the spurious accusation that the company hid its scientific findings on climate change. The AGs invited former Vice President and climate change activist Al Gore to present the case at the now infamous “AGs United for Clean Power” event held in New York.<del style="box-sizing: border-box;">One year</del> Two years later, the campaign is in disarray. Internal divisions have forced some of the AGs to focus on other tasks, if not abandon the effort altogether. Emails obtained through freedom of information requests have exposed how the effort was part of a political effort by anti-fossil fuel groups and wealthy foundations. Contrary to repeated claims by the Columbia School of Journalism and InsideClimate News about “editorial independence,” the financial backers of the reports used as an impetus for the investigation recently <a href="https://energyindepth.org/national/confirmed-rockefellers-admit-funding-pay-to-play-attack-journalism-against-exxon/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">admitted they got what they paid for</a>.As the dwindling case stands today, all but two of the original “Green 20” have run for the hills, with only New York’s Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts’ Maura Healey carrying the torch for their wealthy donors and activist allies. Both have been <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2017/02/rep-lamar-smith-re-subpoenas-schneiderman-over-climate-change-communications-109697" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">subpoenaed</a> (twice) by the U.S. House Science Committee to answer for their attempts to criminalize dissent on public policy, with which they have refused to comply. Both also await a federal court decision on whether they can proceed with their investigations.Undeterred, Schneiderman <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">recently</del> tried to revive the failing campaign by <a href="https://energyindepth.org/national/exxon-filing-puts-spotlight-on-schneidermans-pr-campaign/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">revealing</a> former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson had used a secondary email address while serving at the helm of America’s largest oil and natural gas company. The company pointed out a curious component of Schneiderman’s tabloid journalism strategy: the New York Attorney General was aware of the issue as early as <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">last year</del> 2016, because the company had already produced emails containing the email address for his office.Below is an abridged account of how the #ExxonKnew campaign continued its downward spiral over the past <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">year</del> two years.It Was Always About PoliticsSchneiderman launched his own investigation <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">two</del> three years ago after <a href="https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=3s1_PLUS_ag7V3BP6D3XR8qklcA" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">speaking</a> to representatives of the <a href="https://energyindepth.org/national/after-even-deeper-collusion-with-schneiderman-revealed-exxonknew-campaign-tries-to-change-the-subject/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Rockefeller Family Fund</a>, the leading sponsors of the #ExxonKnew campaign. After getting his marching orders from wealthy liberal donors, Schneiderman began pulling together his team of Democratic AGs with the goal of legitimizing his case.The other AGs, though they shared Schneiderman’s positions on climate policy, saw through his charade and began planning their hasty exits from his witch-hunt as soon as it began. The Iowa AG’s office <a href="https://energyindepth.org/national/as-schneiderman-sued-for-failure-to-disclose-here-are-the-top-five-exxonknew-revelations-from-fioad-documents/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">called</a> Schneiderman a “wild card” and tried to get out of attending the Al Gore press conference. Ultimately, the Iowa AG’s team decided they would have to “ride it through” before refusing to sign the coalition’s <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-mobil-climatechange-idUSKCN10F0AX" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Common Interest Agreement</a>, which spelled out a strategy for refusing to comply with public records request about the campaign.The Virginia AG’s office, meanwhile, was “nervous” about joining the coalition and asked Schneiderman’s team to “dial that back one notch,” <a href="https://energyindepth.org/national/as-schneiderman-sued-for-failure-to-disclose-here-are-the-top-five-exxonknew-revelations-from-fioad-documents/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">referring</a> to language in the release for the Al Gore press conference. The Delaware AG’s office initially agreed to sign the Common Interest Agreement before suddenly <a href="https://energyindepth.org/national/as-schneiderman-sued-for-failure-to-disclose-here-are-the-top-five-exxonknew-revelations-from-fioad-documents/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">pulling out</a> at the last minute.Numerous legal experts of all disciplines called out Schneiderman and his allies. Elizabeth Price Foley, a constitutional law professor at Florida International University College of Law, testified with a panel of other legal experts before the U.S. House Science Committee, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S95QefEO1Do" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">calling</a> certain procedures of the investigation “an abuse of prosecutorial power.” Another expert, Professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S95QefEO1Do" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">said</a> the AGs’ “arguments go too far” and “what they have done contravenes academic freedom and free speech.”Indeed, Schneiderman’s and Healey’s allies even admit their investigation is pure politics. Former Maryland AG Douglas Gansler spoke at a Center for American Progress <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVfZVpUHvik" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">event</a> examining the AG investigation <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">last year</del> two years ago, telling the crowd,<blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 10px 20px; border-left: 5px solid rgb(55, 165, 255); line-height: 22px;">“The idea that AGs are politically motivated is an old one and a real one. Yes, they’re politically motivated in the sense that they are part of the political process; they have to run for office, they have to do what their constituents ask for, the voters that put them in office ask for, and there is no bigger issue that they ought to be thinking about and working on than climate change. And yes, that’s politically motivated. It’s good politics.” (emphasis added)</blockquote>The “Green 20” have also been harshly criticized by their peers, who noted in a <a href="http://www.ago.state.al.us/news/852.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">2016 letter</a>,<blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 10px 20px; border-left: 5px solid rgb(55, 165, 255); line-height: 22px;">“We think this effort by our colleagues to police the global warming debate through the power of the subpoena is a grave mistake… Actions indicating that one side of the climate change debate should fear prosecution chills speech in violation of a formerly bi-partisan First Amendment consensus.” (emphasis added)</blockquote>In addition to pursuing a partisan “<a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/426734/exxon-inquisition-editors" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">inquisition</a>,” Schneiderman has used his investigation as a fundraising vehicle, citing the case while soliciting donations from billionaire eco-activist Tom Steyer on at least <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/09/11/schneiderman-tried-to-contact-eco-tycoon-amid-exxon-probe/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">two</a><a href="http://www.energyindepth.org/national/after-even-deeper-collusion-with-schneiderman-revealed-exxonknew-campaign-tries-to-change-the-subject/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">occasions</a>. Schneiderman’s antics prompted the New York Post to run an <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/09/14/eric-schneidermans-should-announce-for-gov-or-quit-the-nonstop-politicking/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">editorial</a> titled, “Eric Schneiderman should announce he’s running for governor or quit his politicking.”A <a href="https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=PT4bzMlMzVS1Io5RY7FMgA&system=prod" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">court filing</a> by ExxonMobil released <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">earlier this month</del> last year lays bare the extent to which Schneiderman’s campaign is purely political. Schneiderman broke the New York Supreme Court’s rules by running to the press and filing a complaint in court before attempting to settle a dispute with ExxonMobil outside of court:<blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 10px 20px; border-left: 5px solid rgb(55, 165, 255); line-height: 22px;">“Such an approach does not serve the productive resolution of discovery disputes, but it does serve the NYAG’s well-established preference to litigate his case in the press rather than court.”</blockquote>Investigating the InvestigatorsIn a twist, <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">one year</del> two years after the Al Gore press conference, it is now the AGs who are being forced to fend off investigations from a federal court and the House Science Committee.A federal judge in Texas <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">believes</del> believed the AGs may have acted in “bad faith” when pursuing their investigation of Exxon and <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">has</del> issued a broad <a href="https://www.politicopro.com/f/?id=00000157-bf41-d844-abf7-bfc1560e0001" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">discovery order</a> to determine whether “bias or prejudgment” influenced the AGs’ investigations. The discovery order<del style="box-sizing: border-box;"> has</del> turned the tables on the AGs, allowing ExxonMobil to examine their internal documents which may reveal the extent of their collusion with environmental activist groups.Tellingly, the judge cited the Al Gore press conference as the basis for his suspicion that the investigations of Exxon are politically motivated. When Healey’s lawyers tried to argue that her case wasn’t political, the judge <a href="https://energyindepth.org/national/state-ags-al-gore-problem-revealed-in-district-court-hearing-today/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">shot back</a>: “like Al Gore wasn’t frickin’ involved!”Congress is also investigating the AGs, with the House Science Committee issuing subpoenas to the AGs <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">last <a href="https://science.house.gov/news/press-releases/smith-subpoenas-ma-ny-attorneys-general-environmental-groups" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">July</a></del> two years ago and again <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">this</del> last <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2017/02/rep-lamar-smith-re-subpoenas-schneiderman-over-climate-change-communications-109697" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">February</a> after they refused to comply <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">last year</del> with the original. “Instead of pursuing real threats to America, these attorneys general are going down a path of partisan politics and attacking people who disagree with their conclusions about climate change,” Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, <a href="https://science.house.gov/news/press-releases/smith-subpoenas-ma-ny-attorneys-general-environmental-groups" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">said</a> when the subpoenas were issued <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">last year</del> two years ago. “These individuals, scientists, and organizations have the right to conduct research, form their own opinions, and voice those opinions.”Independent groups have also gotten involved, suing some of the AGs to force their compliance with public records laws. The Energy and Environment Legal Institute (E&E Legal) is in court <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">this week</del> last year with Schneiderman, <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/29/legal-group-takes-anti-exxon-ag-to-court-over-hidden-emails/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">seeking emails</a> his office exchanged with #ExxonKnew campaigners and funders.The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), an early target of the AGs’ investigation, has also sued Schneiderman to get access to his documents related to the Exxon investigation. <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">In</del> Last November, a New York state judge ruled in favor of CEI, ordering Schneiderman to turn over the documents. The New York Post <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/12/04/the-disclosure-that-could-end-eric-schneidermans-career/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">called</a> it, “The disclosure that could end Eric Schneiderman’s career.”Meanwhile, Schneiderman has <a href="https://energyindepth.org/national/what-theyre-saying-third-time-not-the-charm-for-meandering-schneiderman-investigation/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">continuously</a> changed the rationale for his investigation in an endless search for something he can label as “fraud.” After rooting through millions of pages of Exxon’s documents and emails spanning some 40 years, he has yet to find any evidence of fraud. His “bombshell” finding thus far is former CEO Rex Tillerson’s alternate email address – a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-14/tillerson-may-face-deposition-about-wayne-tracker-alias-emails" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">common practice</a> among CEOs – and hardly the proof of climate fraud Schneiderman has so desperately sought.<del style="box-sizing: border-box;">One year</del> Two years after the high point in his crusade, Eric Schneiderman finds himself in dire straits. It was a campaign designed to prosecute an oil and natural gas company, but the company he hoped to demonize <del style="box-sizing: border-box;">just</del> saw its former CEO confirmed as U.S. Secretary of State. His friends and allies have abandoned him, and he is being investigated by a federal court and the U.S. Congress.</div><div>=</div></div></div></div></div>