June 21, 2018

Oil Companies and Lobbyists Say They’re Ready To Solve Climate Change. Check The Fine Print.

On Wednesday, former senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and John Breaux (D-LA) announced, with a big public relations blitz, a new campaign, Americans for Carbon Dividends, to address the threat of climate change. The effort is being heralded as a breakthrough by some because it is endorsed by big oil and gas companies Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell,
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February 20, 2018

Exxon’s Conspiracy Charges Aim To Derail Climate Lawsuits

Oil giant ExxonMobil is engaged in unprecedented efforts to sue and harass in court the very people who are investigating and suing the company over global warming. Faced with determined efforts by states and localities to hold it and other fossil fuel companies accountable for contributing to, and concealing the evidence of, climate change, Exxon
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July 30, 2017

The Exxon-Treasury Fight and the Roots of Russiagate

Putin and Exxon Have Aimed Relentlessly At Ending U.S. Sanctions, But Scandal and Congress Have Now Tied Trump’s Hands This article was co-written with Kert Davies. When the Treasury Department announced on July 20 that it had fined ExxonMobil $2 million for violations of U.S. sanctions against Russia, there were multiple ways to view the dispute.
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February 20, 2017

Trump, Putin, Exxon: What Is Russiagate Really About?

This article was co-written with Kert Davies. Any analysis of Russiagate, and the fateful phone calls between Michael Flynn and Russia’s ambassador to the United States, must address the critical fact that U.S. sanctions on Russia are severely damaging Vladimir Putin’s economic power. In particular, these sanctions — imposed by Barack Obama, supported by Hillary
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January 12, 2017

Should America Pick A Secretary of State Who Faces Fraud Investigations?

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Among the most disturbing aspects of Rex Tillerson’s confirmation hearing — he failed to disavow the idea of “a national registry for American Muslims”; he declined to offer an opinion on whether Vladimir Putin (pictured above with Tillerson) had committed war crimes; he said he didn’t view climate change “as the imminent national security threat
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December 12, 2016

With Exxon CEO in Trump Spotlight, A Primer on The Company’s Climate Court Fight

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Donald Trump’s public contemplation of picking ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be U.S. Secretary of State raises a range of controversies, including Tillerson’s dealmaking with Russia and close ties to Vladimir Putin. It also intensifies attention on ExxonMobil’s escalating court battle with the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts over the question of whether the company improperly
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December 1, 2016

Judge’s Radical Exxon Ruling Could Turn The Legal System Upside Down

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A Texas federal judge’s recent order — that the attorneys general of Massachusetts and New York must submit to questioning by lawyers for ExxonMobil about why they are investigating the company — is highly unusual and unwarranted, as is the underlying lawsuit brought by ExxonMobil against the prosecutors. If upheld, this approach could turn the
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September 14, 2016

House Science Hearing on ExxonMobil & Subpoenas: What You Should Know

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This morning, the House Science Committee is holding an unusual hearing, at which the committee’s chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), apparently aims to justify subpoenas he already has issued to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and eight organizations and foundations concerned with the issue of whether Exxon deceived on the public on
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