From Government Accountability and Oversight

WEBEDITOR

Like FERC, another ‘independent agency’ in fact taking White House direction

This is what a “Whole of government approach” to imposing an ideological agenda looks like

For those who haven’t followed the Institute for Energy Research’s revelations about the ‘independent commission’ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), you should. See e.g., “Richard Glick’s White House Chats,” Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2022; Daniel Moore, “Threat of Summer Blackouts Looms Over FERC Chair’s Renomination,” Bloomberg.com, July 12, 2022; Catherine Morehouse, “GOP Probes FERC Chair Glick meetings with White House,” Politico, June 29, 2022 (IER’s website with the transparency campaigns records is here).

Courtesy of Energy Policy Advocates (EPA), we now see there is something of a pattern underway, and FERC Chair Glick’s White House Climate Office chats on that Commission weighing in and doing its part on the “whole of government approach” to ‘climate’ weren’t unique: documents just released in an Energy Policy Advocates v SEC FOIA case shows that SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s team also coordinated with the White House on their mammoth overreach, the highly controversial (and concerning) “climate risk disclosure” rule.

Email and scheduling traffic are unambiguous on this score. A few samples:

And, as the SEC’s production cover letter shows, SEC also is withholding 170 pages of EOP correspondence as “deliberative” (or, in the alternative, b6, “personnel file-type” information. Mmm, yes.).

“Independent agency” apparently means different things to different people. But the position the SEC have staked out is that the White House had a formal role in the SEC’s development of its CRD rule. Wut.

Also, GAO understands that the SEC’s lawyers have stated in meet-and-confers and even in status reports filed with the court that their delay in processing Energy Policy Advocates’ FOIAs was because they had to consult with the White House on what they should release or withhold.

So, last week EPA filed yet another suit for SEC’s correspondence consulting with the White House on the FOIAs. Clearly another one to watch.

via Watts Up With That?

November 6, 2022

“Independent Commission” SEC Coordinated with White House on ‘Climate Risk Disclosure’ Rule