Robert Kennedy Jr. authored a memo to New York's then-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in an attempt to help that state's top cop find a way to completely ban Exxon from doing business in the Empire State.
Kennedy confirmed to the New York Post, which originally broke the news, that he helped author a memo from the Pace Environment Litigation Clinic with the rubric, "Revocation of Exxon Mobil Authority to do Business in New York."
The memo discussed a "corporate death penalty" and said that "Exxon Mobil's subterfuge amounts to a crime against humanity," and was sent just weeks after the New York attorney general's office had announced a lawsuit against the energy producer alleging that the company had prior knowledge of the long-term environmental effects of climate change, but engaged in a cover up with a public relations campaign to the contrary.
When the Post asked Kennedy if he hoped New York would, in-fact, ban Exxon, he replied, "I hope so."
The report said the memo cited other cases in which the New York AG had taken action to ban some companies from operating in the state, and estimated that ExxonMobil has over 1,000 gas stations in the state with about $4 billion in sales annually.
Ed Cox, chairman of the New York GOP, blasted the news, saying "Bobby Kennedy represents a mindset that destroys jobs and the economy in the United States."
New York is the lone east coast government engaged in such a suit against Exxon, which is asking a judge to mandate that the company create an abatement fund to offset predicted damages due to rising sea levels and other environmental conditions.
A handful of California governments such as the City of San Francisco and Oakland have filed similar lawsuits, as well as both the city and county governments of Boulder, Colorado.
The New York lawsuit now has new leadership after Schneiderman was forced to step down in May in the wake of a #MeToo controversy in which at least four different women accused him of abusive behavior.
The new attorney general, Barbara Underwood, told the Post that the Exxon investigation was ongoing, but declined further comment on the Kennedy memo.