Senator urges IG probe of Cuccinelli’s office providing legal aid to natural gas companies

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Senator urges IG probe of Cuccinelli’s office providing legal aid to natural gas companies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/senator-urges-ig-probe-of-cuccinellis-office-providing-legal-aid-to-natural-gas-companies/2013/06/10/8b208ed8-d1e6-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html

By Fredrick Kunkle, Fredrick Kunkle Jun 10, 2013 04:29 PM EDT
The Washington Post
Published: June 10

A Virginia state senator said Monday that he planned to ask the state’s Inspector General to investigate reports that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office had given legal advice to two energy companies in a complex battle with state residents over natural gas royalties, even though the state wasn’t a formal party in the lawsuit.

Sen. Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell) said in a teleconference Monday that he was disturbed by media reports that an assistant attorney general aided lawyers for EQT Production Co. and CNX Gas Co., two Pittsburgh-area energy companies, in their dispute with landowners over royalty payments.
....

The Attorney General’s assistance came to light in an opinion issued Wednesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, who expressed shock at the office’s intervention.

Shock? Really? This sounds like "business as usual" to me. Commenters are connecting the dots:

blueleadermike responds:
6/10/2013 8:35 PM EDT

CNX is a subsidiary of Consul Energy, which donated more than $85,000 to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's Republican candidacy for governor, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks money in politics.

Liam Jello wrote:
6/10/2013 2:34 PM EDT

Oh, hey, another craaaazy coinkydink -

"CNX is owned by Consol Energy, a conglomerate that has given Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli more than $140,000 in contributions (almost all of them cash) since 2010. In fact, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, Consol Energy is the No. 1 contributor of corporate cash to the Cuccinelli campaign.

Only the Republican Governor’s Association has contributed more money to Cuccinelli’s campaign. And who gave that money to the RGA? Lots of it came from energy interests, including Consol Energy, which dumped $639,000 in the RGA in 2012 alone."

Cuccinelli’s office labels emails 'overzealous' but ethical
http://www.tricities.com/news/local/article_08acb440-d3bc-11e2-a55f-001a4bcf6878.html

Posted: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 7:58 pm

Cuccinelli’s office labels emails 'overzealous' but ethical
BY MICHAEL L. OWENS | BRISTOL HERALD COURIER TriCities.com

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office has labeled a staffer’s emails to gas company lawyers fighting Southwest Virginia landowners in court as “overzealous,” but maintains that the relationship was ethical.

“While the tone of the assistant attorney general’s emails may have come across as a bit overzealous, there was nothing wrong with her sharing the information she did in her emails with the gas companies,” spokesman Brian J. Gottstein said Wednesday.

A political brouhaha erupted last week after a federal magistrate judge questioned the motives behind some of Assistant AG Sharon Pigeon’s communications with attorneys representing Pittsburgh-based CNX Gas and EQT Production in a battle over natural gas royalties.
....

Last week, Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent recommended certifying Barrett’s class-action requests in an 85-page report to U.S. District Judge James P. Jones, who will issue the final ruling. ... In her report, Sargent wrote that Pigeon’s emails “shockingly” show she assisted and advised EQT and CNX in the defense strategy.

[e-mail], 276-645-2549

Twitter: @Mike_BHCNews

US judge shocked by Va. role in lawsuit
http://www.tricities.com/news/local/article_f7074d3c-cef1-11e2-93c4-001a4bcf6878.html

Posted: Thursday, June 6, 2013 5:42 pm | Updated: 1:13 pm, Mon Jun 10, 2013.

US judge shocked by Va. role in lawsuit Associated Press |

A federal judge has expressed shock that an assistant Virginia attorney general has been assisting two natural gas companies that are being sued by landowners who allege the companies bilked them out of natural gas royalties.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent said in a filed court opinion that the relationship was revealed in emails provided to the court by the plaintiffs in the case against EQT Production Co. and CNX Gas Co., two Pittsburgh-area energy companies.

The assistant attorney general, Sharon Pigeon, advises the Virginia Gas and Oil Board, which is not a defendant in the potential class action but has intervened in the dispute.
....

Within the 85-page decision, Sargent wrote: "Shockingly, these emails show that the Board, or at least Pigeon, has been actively involved in assisting EQT and CNX with the defense of these cases, including offering advice on and providing information for use on the Motions before the court."

[blkmusclmachine]

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[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Virginia attorney general's office raises questions with role in class-action case

Editorial in the Washington Post on Sunday, June 16, 2103:

Virginia attorney general's office raises questions with role in class-action case
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/virginia-attorney-generals-office-raises-questions-with-role-in-class-action-case/2013/06/15/649a93c0-d3b8-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html

....
After the Bristol Herald Courier published the e-mails that seemingly showed legal advice being offered (one subject line read “Confidential Joint Defense Atty Work Product”), the attorney general’s statement was amended to acknowledge that the “emails may have come across as a bit overzealous.”

The emails are here:

US judge shocked by Va. role in lawsuit
http://www.tricities.com/news/local/article_f7074d3c-cef1-11e2-93c4-001a4bcf6878.html