Legal Experts, Opinion Leaders Brutally Reject “Absurd” Arguments Against Clean Power Plan
Another day, another round of devastating analyses that rebut and debunk Big Coal’s hired gun, Laurence Tribe. His own colleagues at Harvard Law School (HLS) have dismissed his arguments against the EPA’s Clean Power Plan as “absurd,” “false,” and said they have “no plausible [legal] basis.” Perhaps that’s why, as Tribe’s colleague’s note, the Harvard Law professor had “a quiet, yet unmistakable retreat from his earlier pronouncements” after being called out.
So what’s Tribe’s motivation for embracing such an “absurd” and “disingenuous” legal argument? Well, Tribe swiftly ended an interview with New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait when he refused to disclose what percentage of his income comes from the coal industry. Tribe has insisted that his counsel is in good-faith and that he genuinely believes his own arguments. “One hopes he was paid handsomely for the irreparable damage he has done to his reputation as a legal thinker,” EarthJustice’s Abbie Dillen wrote in The Hill. And in the words of Tribe’s HLS colleagues, “Some of the theatricality of Tribe’s language makes more sense when you realize that he’s a paid counsel for one side here.”
“He can cloak it in all the academic legalese he wants, but the fact remains: Larry Tribe is no more than a hired gun for Big Coal—willing to make whatever ‘absurd’ legal arguments they want so long as his check clears. And of course, Tribe’s working for the same dirty energy, Big Polluter interests that spent $721 million to get their agenda enacted in the McConnell Senate—on which McConnell’s been more than happy to oblige. Whether it’s instructing Governors to block the Clean Power Plan in their states, or propping up Big Coal’s lawyer, Mitch McConnell has proven he’ll work hard to do the dirty work of his polluter money backers. If only he’d work this hard for the vast majority of Americans who want to see action on climate change.”
BACKGROUND:
HLS Colleagues: Tribe’s “Theatrical” Statements Make “More Sense When You Realize That He’s a Paid Counsel” For Big Coal.” In an op-ed to Politico Magazine, Tribe’s HLS colleagues wrote, “Some of the theatricality of Tribe’s language makes more sense when you realize that he’s a paid counsel for one side here. Peabody Coal hired him to zealously represent its interests in federal court, and to argue the coal industry’s case in any other forum that might advance its cause, as he has done in Congress and the media.” [Politico Magazine, 3/23/15]
- Headline: Larry Tribe and Mitch McConnell’s Flagrant Constitutional Error [Politico Magazine, 3/23/15]
Tribe Abruptly Ended An Interview About The CPP Lawsuit When Questioned About His Finances. In an interview with New York Magazine, Tribe abruptly refused to answer more questions after his compensation from Big Coal was questioned. The journalist wrote, “I followed up by asking Tribe if he would disclose what percentage of his income has come from energy companies. He replied, ‘It’s a very small percentage. And I’m afraid I don’t have any more time to devote to this dialogue today, so I’ll need to beg off on further questions.’” [New York Magazine, 3/25/15]
NYU Legal Expert: Tribe’s Arguments Are “Frivolous” And Challenge A Bipartisan Consensus That The CPP is Constitutional. In an interview with the Washington Post about the lawsuit, NYU legal expert Richard Revesz said “I think their argument is actually frivolous. We’ve been basically administering this system for 45 years. The system under the Clean Power Plan is modeled on that system. The opponents are essentially arguing that the centerpiece provisions of the Clean Air Act — which have had bipartisan support going back to the Nixon administration — are somehow Constitutionally deficient.” [Washington Post, 3/23/15]
Pillars of Tribe’s Argument Doesn’t Withstand Tribe’s Own Interpretation of Constitution. In a lengthy rebuttal of Tribe’s congressional testimony, Grist’s Dave Robert’s notes that Tribe previously made contradictory constitutional interpretations. [Grist, 3/20/15]
Environmental Law Expert: Tribe Has Done “Irreparable Damage […] To His Reputation As A Legal Thinker.” In an op-ed published in The Hill, Earthjustice environmental law expert Abigail Dillen wrote “One hopes he was paid handsomely for the irreparable damage he has done to his reputation as a legal thinker.” [The Hill, 3/25/15]
NYT Editor’s Blog: McConnell’s Letter to Governor’s “Unusual” And His “Role As The Defended of Big Coal’s Interests” Have Never Been “So Aggressive.” According to an opinion piece for the New York Times’ editor’s blog, Francis Clines wrote, “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has never been so busy or so aggressive in his role as the defender of Big Coal’s interests as he is now. Earlier this month, the powerful Republican from coal-rich Kentucky made an unusual move in reaching beyond Congress and directly urging state governors not to cooperate with the Obama administration’s pending new regulations to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse-gas emissions.” [New York Times, 3/25/15]