by Michael Bastasch
California congressmen wrote a letter to state attorney general
Kamala Harris claiming the freedom of speech “is not designed to protect
fraud and deceit” of the likes being spread by oil company ExxonMobil
about global warming.
Nineteen Democratic lawmakers told Harris her “investigation as to
whether ExxonMobil lied about the truth of climate change and misled
investors does not constitute an effort to silence speech or scientific
research.
“The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, but it does not protect
companies from defrauding the American people or improperly disclosing
information to their shareholders,” lawmakers, including California
Reps. Maxine Waters and Ted Lieu, wrote to Harris.
Harris joined attorneys general from New York, Massachusetts and the
U.S. Virgin Islands in investigating Exxon’s global warming stance based
on reporting by liberal journalists.
...Republicans, however, have come out against the Exxon probe, arguing it’s being pushed behind the scenes by activists with an ax to grind.
AG investigations into Exxon has also sparked free speech concerns
since it has ensnared dozens of conservative think tanks, policy experts
and scientists.
Virgin Islands AG Claude Walker joined Harris and others in targeting
Exxon. Walker has already subpoenaed a libertarian think and a
D.C.-based public relations firm.
Walker’s subpoena targets prominent conservative and libertarian think tanks,
including the Heritage Foundation, the Heartland Institute, the Cato
Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Institute for
Energy Research.
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