Bonta says Trump is sending "$111 million to his fossil fuel industry friends"
Attorney General of California
“President Trump is trying to send $111 million to his fossil fuel industry friends and wants taxpayers and working families to cover the tab.”
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
California Attorney General's press release announcing the lawsuit over Invenergy's California lease buyout.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Bonta and the California Energy Commission filed suit against the Invenergy California lease buyout, arguing it violated the Judgment Fund Act along with other federal laws.
After the quotation
Bonta said California was "not here to foot the bill" and asked the court to strike down the deal as unlawful.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Did the Interior Department's offshore wind lease-cancellation payments comply with the Judgment Fund Act?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
Bonta directly criticizes the payment as an abuse of taxpayer dollars benefiting fossil fuel interests, condemning both the payment and its intended use.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Invenergy, U.S. Department of the Interior
Did the Interior Department's offshore wind lease-cancellation payments comply with the Judgment Fund Act?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“These illegal backroom deals take money that should have gone toward lowering New Yorkers' bills and hand it to fossil fuel projects in other states, all while our energy demand continues to grow.”Read statement
“The use of congressionally appropriated funds, potentially in violation of the Antideficiency Act, to pay private companies to cancel clean energy projects on the condition that they invest in fossil fuel ventures appears to be quid pro quo. ... You have furnished these reimbursements through the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Judgment Fund, which was created to pay valid judgement and settlements where the United States is the defendant. The details of these agreements make clear that your payment structure does not meet the statutory requirements governing use of the Judgment Fund: DOI has identified no final judgment, Attorney General-approved compromise of a referred claim, or money-damages liability that would make this payment eligible for the Judgment Fund under 31 U.S.C. § 1304 or 28 U.S.C. § 2414.”Read statement
“They essentially gave the U.S. government an interest-free loan and their money was refunded to them”Read statement