WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Explain yourself, an advocacy group is telling the Department of the Interior after it rejected a Freedom of Information Act request.
Energy Policy Advocates filed a motion for summary judgment on July 7 in its lawsuit against the Interior Dept. over its lack of a response to a records request regarding a controversial official.
The lawsuit asks a judge to order the Interior Dept. to hand over materials on Elizabeth Klein, a senior counselor to Secretary Deb Haaland. Klein’s spot in the department has raised eyebrows, considering her climate change agenda.
DOI has denied EPA’s request for ethics/recusal memoranda about Klein, whose name was withdrawn as a nominee for deputy secretary in March because of her past work against the fossil fuels industry.
The July 7 motion seeks an order requiring DOI to give more than the bare-bones response it issued when it denied the request for an expedited response.
“Ms. Klein’s potential conflicts are currently the subject of ongoing media and public interest, as made clear in Plaintiff’s pleadings and the subsequent public record,” the motion says.
“The records sought do not concern historical events but active decision-making coming from within the Secretary of the Department of the Interior’s Office.”
Interior rules require it to explain the basis for the denial of an expedited response. EPA has already filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to force the release of the Klein materials.
The controversy involves Klein's previous work on climate change litigation brought by state attorneys general. She served as deputy director of the Michael Bloomberg-funded State Energy & Environmental Impact Center (SEEIC) at the New York University (NYU) School of Law, which paid the salaries of climate activists who were placed in state attorney general offices in order to push an agenda that includes litigation.
Those Bloomberg-funded lawyers have assisted in suits against BP, Citgo, Chevron, and more than 20 other fossil fuel companies alleging they are responsible for damage caused by climate change – suits, some defense lawyers say, that rely more on PR campaigns than sound legal arguments.
Critics say Klein's work at the SEEIC could conflict with positions she may take on issues involving states as parties.
EPA’s FOIA request also seeks information as to whether the department granted Klein an ethics waiver.
EPA says it is simply seeking records also being pursued by media outlets and members of Congress.
“Both Klein and her employer (the Impact Center) provided legal representation and assistance to at least 17 states and the District of Columbia, including on ‘particular matters’ adverse to the Department,” EPA has said.
“Given the tremendous public interest in the ethics of those appointed to the highest levels of office, the urgency in informing the public of real and potential ethical conflicts, and Plaintiff’s proven ability to widely disseminate information.”