Very few people are probably aware of a federal court in New York hearing this week between energy manufacturers and New York and Massachusetts attorneys general Eric Schneiderman and Maura Healey. It is important to pay attention to this coordinated effort by a group of trial attorneys, public officials, environmental activists and deep-pocketed donors to disparage manufacturers in America.

No one should buy what this group is selling, and the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project (MAP) wants you to know the facts:

1. This is a politically-motivated legal investigation. It has been two years since New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, supported by a roster of environmental activists such as trial attorney Matt Pawa and 350.org’s Bill McKibben, first targeted energy manufacturers with a legally dubious investigation. Some of Schneiderman’s fellow state attorneys general soon joined the party, including Massachusetts’s AG Maura Healey. The end game of these partisan officials does not appear to be law enforcement on behalf of citizens of their respective states, but rather using their offices in pursuit of a political agenda to seek a higher office.
2. This is nothing more than a fishing expedition. For years, a group of politically motivated activists has pushed its anti-energy agenda, spinning a disparaging narrative about America’s energy manufacturers in an effort to bring them down. In order to try to prove their unfounded claims, they want access to internal energy company documents, which means convincing state attorneys general to launch investigations into those companies. Attorney General Schneiderman and company—assisted by biased journalism outlets—have been more than eager to oblige. Yet two years in, these elected officials are still collecting “evidence” and demanding depositions with nothing to show for it.
3. It’s not just about energy manufacturers; all manufacturers are affected. If successful, politically-motivated state investigations such as these will have consequences far beyond the energy sector, threatening the ability of ALL manufacturers to continue innovating, growing and creating jobs for millions of Americans. Left unchecked, the door will open up a floodgate of similar investigations aimed at other successful industries with the impact rippling throughout the nation’s economy. Furthermore, this distorted use of litigation serves only to undermine our legal system.

No matter the outcome of Thursday’s hearing, MAP will continue to counter the orchestrated campaign behind these legally tenuous investigations. The players are officially on notice.