Environmental Win Over Exxon Mobil

Yesterday, the Supreme Court declined to hear a bid by Exxon Mobil that would have blocked an investigation by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey into the oil giant's lies to its shareholders about its knowledge of the link between fossil fuel use and climate change. Attorney General Healey is now free to pursue document discovery for an investigation into Exxon Mobil's deliberate concealment of data and research about the damaging impact of burning fossil fuels on global climate change. Successful prosecution of the case in Massachusetts could lead to other states following suit, not just with Exxon Mobil but with other fossil fuel companies that have mislead shareholders and the public.

Keep an eye on AG Healey, who just won re-election in November over her Rethuglican opponent with 70% of the vote. She's the first openly gay state attorney general in the U.S. and was the driving force behind dozens of state attorney generals successfully calling for a special prosecutor in the Russiagate scandal after the firing of James Comey. If she's not Governor material, no one is.

(photo: Massachusetts AG Maura Healy; Jessica Rinaldi/Boston Globe)