Washington, DC – Last week, attorneys general from nineteen states wrote a letter in response to a July letter from the US Treasury Department warning that anti-responsible investing laws could harm law enforcement’s efforts to address money laundering and terrorist financing.
The letter from the attorneys general accuses the Biden-Harris administration of fearmongering and proposes that the Treasury Department is “hijack[in] the financial system for their political ends.”
However, the nineteen attorneys general who signed onto the letter have received over $8.7 million total from the oil and gas industry over their careers.
“Attorneys general in the pocket of big oil would rather play politics to appease their wealthy donors than ensure that the residents of their state are getting the best bang for their buck when it comes to making investment decisions,” said Unlocking America’s Future spokesperson Kyle Herrig. “These attorneys general don’t care about the free market – they only care about making sure the money keeps rolling in. And the way to do that is to keep punishing banks who look at using every tool available to make better investment decisions for their clients.”
| Official | State | Career Money From Energy & Natural Resources Sectors* |
| Attorney General Steve Marshall | AL | $296,250 |
| Attorney General Treg Taylor | AK | Appointed by Governor |
| Attorney General Tim Griffin | AR | $481,277 |
| Attorney General Ashley Moody | FL | $78,903 |
| Attorney General Chris Carr | GA | $162,067 |
| Attorney General Brenna Bird | IA | $36,258 |
| Attorney General Raul Labrador | ID | $239,565** |
| Attorney General Todd Rokita | IN | $385,176 |
| Attorney General Kris Kobach | KS | $124,793 |
| Attorney General Liz Murrill | LA | $221,300 |
| Attorney General Lynn Fitch | MS | $809,650 |
| Attorney General Andrew Bailey | MO | $14,600*** |
| Attorney General Austin Knudsen | MT | $30,742 |
| Attorney General MIke Hilgers | NE | $105,497**** |
| Attorney General Drew Wrigley | ND | $13,750 |
| Attorney General John Formella | NH | Appointed by Governor |
| Attorney General Alan Wilson | SC | $136,575 |
| Attorney General Ken Paxton | TX | $5,034,012 |
| Attorney General Sean Reyes | UT | $122,985 |
| Attorney General Patrick Morrissey | WV | $479,242 |
| Attorney General Bridget Hill | WY | Appointed by Governor |
| Total | $8,772,642 |
*The Energy & Natural Resources category includes sectors such as oil & gas, mining, electric utilities, steel, smelting & refining, railroads, and others. Data sourced from The National Institute on Money In Politics (FollowTheMoney.org)
**Includes contributions from Labrador’s career in the US House
***Bailey was appointed Attorney General by Governor Brad Parsons in January 2023 and is currently running for his first elected term in office ***Includes contributions from Hilgers’ career in the state legislature
