Bob McCarty Writes

Andrew Cuomo

When New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sent an accusatory letter (pdf) to Chevron CEO David J. O’Reilly May 4, he had to know the effort would position him squarely alongside Philadelphia trial lawyers and radical environmentalists associated with an Ecuadoran environmental group.  At least, that’s what I surmised in a post June 2.  Today, I have more reason to believe I’m right.

In a May 28 Freedom of Information Law (a.k.a., “FOIL”) request filed with Cuomo’s office, I asked for “copies of all paper and electronic correspondence between Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and any and all representatives of the Amazon Defense Coalition with whom he communicated during the past 12 months.” Seven days later, I received a reply from Amy C. Karp, an assistant counsel in Cuomo’s office.

Karp informed me that “the Office of the Attorney General has conducted a diligent search and does not possess any records” of contact with representatives of ADC, the over-the-top-zealous group behind a $27 billion class-action lawsuit filed against the nation’s second-largest oil company 16 years ago.

Apparently, Cuomo wants me to believe the accusatory tone he’s taken against O’Reilly and his company is based solely upon papers filed in the case and is without any political motivations.

In addition, he wants me to believe he sent the letter to the O’Reilly without any interest in generating future campaign contributions from environmentalists and trial lawyers who might read about it in accounts by Reuters, The Economist, The Houston Chronicle and other publications.

What else do you think Cuomo wants me — and you — to believe?

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To learn more about the ADC’s spurious lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador, read these BMW posts.