- A federal judge today seemed skeptical of Exxon Mobil’s (NYSE:XOM) claim that an investigation by New York Attorney General Schneiderman is flawed because its focus shifted from a suspected climate change cover-up to whether investors were misled.
- An XOM lawyer argued that "shifting theory of liability" was evidence the investigation is a politically motivated effort to punish the company for not adopting the climate change "alarmism" shared by Schneiderman and other Democrats, to which the judge replied, “Investigations shift all the time... If that gives rise to federal court proceedings, then the world of federal investigations will come to a halt.”
- The judge ended the hearing without ruling but suggested the strength of Schneiderman’s findings about XOM would determine the success or failure of the investigation, rather than a courtroom battle before it is complete: "If they’re wrong, they don’t have a case. If they’re right, you should be held to account."
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