Exxon Tries To Bury Climate Documents By Claiming First Amendment Rights

ExxonMobil is fighting a subpoena seeking its internal documents on climate change, arguing that the order violates the company's constitutional rights. It's an argument that legal experts say is unusual but not unprecedented.

Earlier this month, U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker initiated an investigation into whether Exxon misled the public on climate science. His office is also requesting records from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based libertarian think tank to which Exxon has previously provided funding. In that subpoena, the AG's office accuses Exxon of defrauding the government and consumers, and "misrepresenting its knowledge of the likelihood that its products and activities have contributed and are contributing to climate change."