From an Article by Dana Varinsky, Business Insider, January 11, 2017

Outside the hearing on former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s nomination as secretary of state, 15 people dressed as T-Rex dinosaurs joined hundreds of protesters.

In addition to calling Tillerson a climate dinosaur — a reference to Exxon’s history of climate change denial — the demonstrators’ rhetoric centered around one phrase: #ExxonKnew.

The allegation refers to two damning investigations conducted by the LA Times and InsideClimate News in 2015, both of which found that Exxon leaders knew humans were causing climate change as early as 1977, yet intentionally misled the public about global warming while lobbying the government to block emissions regulations. The reports sparked outrage, spreading online with the hashtag #ExxonKnew.

InsideClimate News’ series, which was published after an eight-month investigation, suggests that Exxon was briefed by scientists and even conducted its own robust climate modeling programs for years, all of which suggested that fossil fuels were to blame for spiking global temperatures. (The LA Times’ report confirms the same.) But despite this information, Exxon continued to push for the appointment of officials who broke with the mainstream opinion on climate change, and set up the Global Climate Coalition, a lobbying partnership devoted to opposing controls on carbon pollution.

A 2007 report from the Union of Concerned Scientists also suggested that Exxon used the same tactics as the cigarette industry to promote uncertainty about the facts of climate change.

Tillerson actually does acknowledge that climate change is a problem (unlike EPA nominee Scott Pruitt and President-elect Donald Trump). However, environmental advocates believe Exxon’s record speaks louder than Tillerson’s words. According to an analysis by NextGen Climate published by the Huffington Post this week, Exxon gave more than $6.5 million to groups that deny fossil fuels contribute to global warming between 2008 and 2015. The company vowed nine years ago to stop funding groups that promoted misinformation about climate change.

Senator Tim Kaine questioned Tillerson about that history during the hearing today, asking him whether Exxon Mobil knew about climate change long ago, despite what the company has publicly stated.

Tillerson declined to comment, suggesting that he can’t speak for the company now that he no longer works there. “Do you lack the knowledge to answer my question, or are you refusing to answer my question?” Mr. Kaine asked.

“A little of both,” Mr. Tillerson replied. Both Kaine and various environmental groups took this response as confirmation of the “Exxon Knew” controversy.

It’s shameful Tillerson refused to answer my questions on his company’s role in funding phony climate science. Bottom line: #ExxonKnew

— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) January 11, 2017
May Boeve, executive director of grassroots environmental organization 350.org, immediately issued a statement highlighting Tillerson’s refusal to answer Kaine’s question. “Tillerson is still lying about what Exxon knew about climate change,” Boeve said “Tillerson deserves a federal investigation into Exxon’s lies, not a cabinet appointment.”

Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International, an organization that works to expose the dangers of fossil fuels and promote a clean energy transition, echoed these sentiments.

”Unsurprisingly, Tillerson essentially pled the fifth when asked about Exxon’s long history of denying climate science, explicitly refusing to answer the question, or accept any responsibility for the actions of the company of which he was CEO for the last decade,” he said. “The record is clear: Exxon Knew.”

Various states, including Massachusetts and California, are currently investigating whether Exxon Mobil indeed lied to the public and its shareholders, since that could mean the company engaged in fraud and violated various environmental laws. In November 2016, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenaed over a million of Exxon’s internal documents.

Whether or not Tillerson becomes our next Secretary of State, Exxon’s past will undoubtedly continue to plague him.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/rex-tillerson-exxon-knew-2017-1

See also: http://www.FrackCheckWV.net

By Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press, January 12, 2017

Exxon Mobil has been ordered to hand over documents related to a state investigation into whether it misled the public about the impact of fossil fuels on the climate.

Wednesday’s decision by a Suffolk Superior Court judge is a win for Attorney General Maura Healey, who’s trying to determine if the company deceived investors and consumers by hiding what it knew about the link between burning fossil fuels and climate change.

An Exxon Mobil Corp. spokesman said the company, based in Irving, Texas, is reviewing the decision to determine its next steps.

An aide to Healey said the ruling affirmed the longstanding authority of the attorney general to investigate fraud.

“Exxon must now end its obstructive tactics and come clean about whether it misled Massachusetts consumers and investors about what it knew about climate change, its causes and effects,” Healey spokeswoman Chloe Gotsis said in a written statement.

The judge ruled that Exxon Mobil, a global oil and gas company, faced a heavy legal burden in trying to show a reason it shouldn’t have to turn over the information.

“There is no requirement that the Attorney General have probable cause to believe that a violation (of the law) has occurred,” Judge Heidi Brieger wrote. “She need only have a belief that a person has engaged in or is engaging in conduct declared to be unlawful.”

The judge added that, while the attorney general must not act arbitrarily or in excess of her statutory authority, “she need not be confident of the probable result of her investigation.”

The legal battle began last year, when Healey and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, both Democrats, demanded documents from the firm dating to 1976.

A related case is pending in Texas, where Exxon Mobil is trying to get a federal court to quash Healey and Schneiderman subpoenas of its documents related to climate change.

In October, the company said the two attorneys general “are incapable of impartial investigations and are attempting to silence political opponents who disagree on the appropriate policies to address climate change.”

A federal judge there last month canceled a scheduled deposition by Healey without explanation. Briefs in that case are due February 1.

Source: http://www.wbur.org/news/2017/01/12/exxon-healey-climate-documents-ruling

See also: http://www.FrackCheckWV.net