Panel investigates ELI’s climate judicial education
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- Environmental Law Institute – The House Judiciary Committee has launched an investigation into its Climate Judiciary Project, alleging improper attempts to influence federal judges, and requested documents in August and formally began the probe this year.
- Sher Edling – The law firm, which has filed over two dozen climate‑deception lawsuits for states and municipalities, was questioned about its “minimal” contacts with the ELI, while the firm acknowledges funding from BP, Chevron and Koch Industries and board members from BP and Shell.
- Law and Economics Center – Its Judicial Education Project, housed at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law, runs expense‑paid seminars for federal judges funded by fossil‑fuel companies such as ExxonMobil and the Charles Koch Foundation.
- Chris Wright – The current Energy Secretary, formerly a fracking‑company executive, addressed private audiences of judges at LEC events at least three times, including seminars in June 2024 and June 2021.
- Leonard Leo – The right‑wing judicial‑selection strategist linked to the American Energy Institute, which has attacked the ELI and is tied to the fossil‑fuel‑backed campaign to shape climate litigation.
- Sheldon Whitehouse – The Rhode Island senator warned that fossil‑fuel interests prefer judges rely on industry‑funded “education” seminars that promote skepticism of climate science.
Why it matters: The probe targets the nonprofit that educates judges on climate science, aiming to curb fossil‑fuel‑funded seminars that could sway rulings. If successful, oil companies may lose a strategic advantage in climate lawsuits, while state and municipal plaintiffs could see a more level judicial playing field.
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