Proving Amazon Watch, Others Wrong Too Easy

San Francisco blogger Zennie Abraham reported in a post today that Amazon Watch and others like to argue that the government of Ecuador is not a party to the $27 billion environmental lawsuit Amazon Defense Coalition is waging against Chevron Corporation in an Ecuadoran court. In the paragraphs below, I offer evidence that seems to prove very easily that Zennie is right. My proof comes from none other than Washington Pesantez, the South American country’s prosecutor general.

Sources close to the case tell me that, amidst the furor over Chevron’s release of video tapes that appear to implicate Ecuadoran government officials — including President Rafael Correa and Juan Nunez, the judge who was hearing the case but has since recused himself — in a $3 million bribery scheme, Pesantez held a press conference Sept. 4 in his Quito office.

During that press conference, Pesantez said a number of amazing things, one of which stands out: he stated that 90 percent of the $27 billion award pending against Chevron would go to the government of Ecuador. To understand exactly what he said, read the transcript of the prosecutor general’s press conference. It's available in English and Spanish here.

To read previous BMW posts that mention Chevron and the ADC lawsuit, click here.

$3 Million Bribery Scandal Erupts in Ecuador; Judge, Others Caught on Tape!

Today, Chevron Corporation officials provided authorities in Ecuador and the U.S. with video recordings that reveal a $3 million bribery scheme implicating the judge presiding over the environmental lawsuit currently pending against the company and individuals who identify themselves as representatives of the Ecuadorian government and its ruling party.

Below are links to two posts I published this morning which tackle this bombshell news:

• Scandal Erupts in Chevron-Ecuador Environmental Lawsuit; $3MM Bribery Scheme Caught on Tape!

• Transcript: Ecuadoran Officials Caught on Tape Seeking $3 Million in Return for Favorable Ruling

Lawsuit Closes Chevron Refinery, Costs 1,000 Jobs

More than 1,000 construction workers will lose their jobs — at least temporarily — at the end of this month as the result of a decision by Contra Costa County (Calif.) Superior Judge Barbara Zuniga.

Ironically, the major project employing these people was designed to increase efficiency and reduce emissions at Chevron Corporation’s Richmond (Calif.) Refinery.

Read more about it and watch a short video about it here.

Chevron Lawsuit Subject of Two Posts at BMW

I offer two posts today that are related to the ongoing litigation that pits Chevron Corporation against the Amazon Defense Coalition in an Ecuadoran Court.

In the first post, I offer my thanks to Google, explaining that the well-known search engine helped me pinpoint the reason which New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo might be so interested in helping the Amazon Defense Coalition in its lawsuit against Chevron Corporation.
Read about it here.

In the second post, I reveal how, less than 24 hours after President Barack Obama extended Ecuador’s trade benefits for six months, word arrived from Ecuador that three key individuals representing the Amazon Defense Coalition in its $27 billion lawsuit against Chevron Corporation were meeting with Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa. Click here for the details.

To learn more about the ADC’s spurious lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador, read these BMW posts.

What Does Allen Stanford Have in Common with Amazon Defense Coalition? Lobbyist Ben Barnes

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any shadier, I’ve learned that the lobbyist now representing the Amazon Defense Coalition (via Kohn Swift & Graf, P.C.) in its $27 billion lawsuit against San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron Corporation is the same man who represented Stanford Financial Group and its now-indicted founder R. Allen Stanford between 2002 and 2008.

Find out what else I learned here.

Chevron Lawsuit Post Highlighted at SFGate.com

Below are links to the 10 most-recent posts published at Bob McCarty Writes:

• Chevron Lawsuit Post Highlighted at SFGate.com

• Civilian Workers Strike Continues at Vance AFB

• Photo of the Week: Injured Airlift Near Abu Ghraib

• Major Labor-Management Announcement to be Made During API News Conference Wednesday

• RNC Video Explains Government-Run Health Care

• ABC to Turn Over Programming to White House

• Nuggets of News Cause Blogger to Pause

• Obama Health Care Reform Full of Deception

• Obama Inspires Fun & Games Photo Manipulation

Enjoy!

Is Andrew Cuomo Liar, Incompetent or Both?

I haven’t decided yet whether New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is a liar, an incompetent public official or both.

In a post June 5, I shared the outcome of a Freedom of Information Law (a.k.a., “FOIL”) request I had filed eight days earlier with Cuomo’s office: In short, he denied having any records of contact with representatives of the Amazon Defense Coalition, the over-the-top-zealous group behind a $27 billion lawsuit filed against Chevron Corporation in Ecuador. Further, it appears, he wants people like me to believe the accusatory tone he took in a widely-publicized May 4 letter to Chevron CEO David J. O’Reilly was based solely upon papers filed in the case and was without political motivation.

Now, for the second time in two weeks, Cuomo’s office has denied having had contact during the past 12 months with people on the plaintiff’s side of the case: representatives of Kohn Swift & Graf, P.C., the Philadelphia law firm providing funding for the plaintiff; and Steven Donziger, the lead plaintiff attorney in the case.

I don't believe it. To find out why, click here.

What Will Be The Outcome of the Amazon Defense Coalition’s Lawsuit Against Chevron in Ecuador?

Life in the Oriente Region of Ecuador is full of danger, mystery and intrigue. Located along the border with Colombia in the northeast part of the country, the region is home to ancient people groups who depend largely upon the resources of the Amazon River basin for their survival. It’s home to thousands of exotic wildlife species. And, for the past 16 years, has been a home away from home for New York trial lawyer and Harvard Law School classmate of President Barack Obama, Steven R. Donziger.

Since 1993, Donziger has made myriad trips from his New York City office to the oil-rich jungles of South America in search of what he must have hoped would be easy money. All he had to do was come up with a “tool” he could use to extract boatloads of cash from the deep, oil-soaked pockets of San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron Corporation. That tool, it appears, turned out to be a lawsuit against “Big Oil.”

In a case that could be decided upon by a judge in Ecuador any day, the verdict could cost Chevron and its shareholders $27 billion.

Read all about it here.

NY AG Cuomo Tries to ‘FOIL’ Blogger’s Efforts

When New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sent an accusatory letter (pdf) to Chevron CEO David J. O’Reilly May 4, he had to know the effort would position him squarely alongside Philadelphia trial lawyers and radical environmentalists associated with an Ecuadoran environmental group. At least, that’s what I surmised in a post June 2. Today, I have more reason to believe I’m right, thanks to a reply I received in response to my recent Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. It's all right here!

NY Freedom of Information Law Put to Test

Barely three weeks after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, sent an inflammatory and provocative letter to Chevron Corporation’s David J. O’Reilly, I sent a communication of my own. To Cuomo’s office. That’s right, I decided to put the State of New York’s Freedom of Information Law (a.k.a., “FOIL”) to the test in an effort to find out whether Cuomo is being transparent in his relationship with those on both sides of a $27 billion class-action lawsuit filed against Chevron some 16 years by the Amazon Defense Coalition.

Read all about it here.

‘No Good Deed Goes Unpunished’ (Part 1 of 2)

“This case is the ultimate embodiment of ‘no good deed goes unpunished,’” said Charles A. James, executive vice president and chief legal counsel at Chevron Corporation, speaking about the 16-year-old, $27 billion lawsuit filed by the Amazon Defense Coalition against Chevron in Ecuador. Today, I published a two-part post about the monumental lawsuit that makes the Exxon Valdez case look like pocket change. Start with Part 1 of 2.

See also: Following the Money Difficult in Ecuador Lawsuit

Chevron Battling $27 Billion Lawsuit in Ecuador

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve probably heard little about an environmental lawsuit that has potential to produce the largest settlement in the history of the world. In the space below, I offer for free information that might best be described as “The Definitive Guide to the Chevron Ecuador Lawsuit (hereinafter referred to as “The Guide“).”

Before I introduce the contents of The Guide, however, let me offer a brief overview of the lawsuit:

The case pits the Amazon Defense Coalition, led by a Philadelphia-based lawyer, who claims to represent tens of thousands of indigenous people damaged by the reckless actions of Texaco Oil Company as it operated in a partnership with state-owned PetroEcuador from 1964 to 1990. Because Chevron Corporation purchased Texaco in 2001, the United States’ third-largest company became the target of — or defendant in — the class-action lawsuit that’s now in its 16th year and is expected to be decided upon in an Ecuadoran court within months.

To find all of the details and The Guide to the case, click here.

Blogger Targeted by ‘Spin’ in $27 Billion Lawsuit

By Bob McCarty

For most of the past three weeks, I’ve been trying to learn as many details as possible about the a $27 billion class-action lawsuit pitting the Amazon Defense Coalition against Chevron. Only last night, however, did I come to realize fully how large the stakes are in this 16-year-old lawsuit being tried in an Ecuadoran court.

Barely an hour after “60 Minutes” reporter Scott Pelley’s story, “Amazon Crude,” aired on CBS Sunday night, I had exchanged e-mails with representatives on both sides of the lawsuit.

On the plaintiff side, Andrew Woods, a Huffington Post blogger and Harvard Law School graduate who serves as one of the attorneys for the plaintiff, got things started by sending me a link to the “60 Minutes” piece along with a transcript of the CBS segment at 8:10 p.m. Central. He ended his message by saying, “I’d be interested in your reaction.”

On the defense side, media advisor Justin Higgs sent a message 15 minutes later. In response to his question about whether I had seen Pelley’s piece, I told him, “Coincidentally, I’m watching it online right now.” He followed up by sending me a link to a Chevron Flickr page which offers photos that, he explained, “haven’t been publicized until recently.” Six photos to be exact, all of which were shot by a Chevron consultant, according to Kent Robertson, a Higgs’ colleague with whom I also exchanged e-mails. One of the photos accompanies this post.

To find out more about the "spin" I encountered, visit Bob McCarty Writes.

Blogger Investigating $27 Billion Lawsuit Against Chevron, Sending Correspondent to Ecuador

“Big Oil” is under siege. Nowhere, however, are the stakes higher than in Ecuador. Within six months, a judge in that country is expected to issue a decision in a class-action environmental lawsuit that could cost San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron Oil Company $27 billion.

To learn more about the case, I will travel with my oldest son, Matt, to ChevronLatin America’s offices in Miami for an April 30 briefing. After the briefing, however, I will return to St. Louis while Matt accompanies Chevron officials on a fact-finding journey to Ecuador.

Read more about the trip here.