THE BLOOMBERG-ELLISON CORRUPTION CONNECTION

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Powerline

It came to light last year that a handful of rich left-wing donors led by Michael Bloomberg have collaborated with New York University Law School to recruit, place and pay for lawyers in attorney generals’ offices around the United States. These lawyers, compensated outside the executive structure of state government, are embedded in state governments to pursue lawsuits that fit Bloomberg’s liberal agenda. In particular, they are directed to bring lawsuits against oil companies and others based on “climate change.” Bloomberg’s scheme is corrupt, poses inevitable conflicts of interest, and in some states is flatly illegal. This video by the Clear Energy Alliance presents a good summary of the scandal:

 

A group called Energy Policy Advocates requested documents relating to this scheme from the office of Minnesota’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison. EPA’s requests were made pursuant to Minnesota’s broad Government Data Practices Act. The requests were narrowly tailored to ask for documents relating to 1) correspondence between the AG’s office and a plaintiffs’ law firm, and 2) correspondence between the AG’s Office and a specific individual in another state who was recruiting attorneys general to join Bloomberg’s scheme. The Minnesota Attorney General replied that there are no such documents, or, if there are, they are privileged and will not be produced.

So EPA sued, represented by a brand new public interest law firm called the Upper Midwest Law Center. (Disclosure: I am on the UMLC’s board of directors.) The UMLC’s Complaint is here. That Complaint was filed today, and my friend Doug Seaton of the UMLC gave a press conference this morning, which you can watch here. 

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13 States Sue The White House Over New ‘Public Charge’ Rule

Over a dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its new “public charge” rule. The suit was filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Wednesday by a coalition of 13 states led by Washington Attorney General Robert Ferguson.

The lawsuit argues the new rule is in violation of outstanding immigration laws by changing what constitutes an immigrant as a “public charge.” Currently, a person is considered a “public charge” if they are mainly dependent on government programs for support. If they meet the criteria, they are less likely to be approved for permanent residency.