CEI Sues NY AG Schneiderman for Common Interest Agreement on Climate Change Subpoena Campaign

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today sued New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for refusing to disclose any Common Interest Agreement entered into by his office earlier this year.

Schneiderman’s office denied CEI’s May 5, 2016 request for any Common Interest Agreements, which was made under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).  His office claimed the records are exempt from disclosure.  

“What is AG Schneiderman’s office trying to hide?” said CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman. “None of the reasons Schneiderman claimed for withholding these documents are legitimate under New York law. The public deserves to know what this AG, and the other AGs cooperating with him, agreed to when it came to targeting their political opponents, and that’s why we sought the Common Interest Agreement in the first place.”

CEI is seeking all Common Interest Agreements entered into by the Office of the Attorney General and signed by, mention or otherwise include the AGs for other states or territories, as well as certain environmental activists.  CEI suspects these agreements may be a pretext for shielding documents from public disclosure. View the case page here.