Climate Activists Target Exxon's Lawyer, A Prominent Democratic Donor
Over the last few years, more than a dozen state and local governments have filed lawsuits against fossil fuel companies—in attempts to hold them liable for their role in perpetuating the climate crisis.
This week, a decision came down in a case between ExxonMobil and the State of New York, and New York lost. The New York attorney general had charged Exxon with securities-fraud, saying the oil company withheld pertinent information about the future costs of climate change and environmental regulations from its shareholders. The NY State Supreme Court judge, called the allegations “hyperbolic” and rejected the suit. It’s a real blow for those who hoped other jurisdictions might bring similar claims, as New York has a particularly strong law against shareholder fraud.
This case began four years ago, and the lead attorney representing Exxon is Ted Wells Jr., a top lawyer at the New York-based law firm Paul Weiss. He’s also a top Democratic donor, who has given more than half a million dollars to Democratic candidates and committees over the last 30 years. He also sits on the 13-person Harvard Corporation, which is a board that, along with the Harvard University president, decides on matters like whether to pursue campus divestment from fossil fuels. Activists at Harvard have been pressing for the university to divest since 2012.
For The Intercept, I have a story about climate activists who are now targeting attorneys like Wells, and law firms like Paul Weiss. This fits into a larger campaign environmentalists have been leading over the last two years, with the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge” — an effort to seek commitments from politicians and candidates to not knowingly accept any contribution over $200 from the PACs, lobbyists, or SEC-named executives of fossil fuel companies. The thinking is that taking real bold action on climate change will never happen as long as the party stays too cozy with oil and gas companies.
(About 50 members of Congress have taken the pledge so far, and all Democratic candidates for president, with the exception of Michael Bloomberg and Deval Patrick.)
While Wells Jr. did not agree to talk for the piece, I did talk at length with another big Democratic donor who is Chevron’s attorney in similar climate liability cases right now. I talked to him about whether he feels conflicted representing Chevron, and whether Democrats should think twice about accepting his money. Short answers: no, and nope, but it’s worth reading him in his own words.
Read the Intercept story here.