A New York Times investigation finds an ‘unprecedented, secretive alliance’ between Republican state attorneys general and some of the nation's top energy producers to push back against the Obama administration’s regulatory agenda. Attorneys general in at least a dozen states are working with energy companies and other corporate interests, which in turn are providing them with record amounts of money for their political campaigns, including at least $16 million this year.
They share a common philosophy about the reach of the federal government, but the companies also have billions of dollars at stake. And the collaboration is likely to grow: For the first time in modern American history, Republicans in January will control a majority of attorneys general's offices. The Times cited a letter to the EPA on the letterhead of Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma that was in fact written by lawyers for Devon Energy, one of Oklahoma's biggest oil and gas companies. Pruitt is unapologetic. He blamed “a very dysfunctional, distrustful political environment” for raising “those kinds of questions.”