MARTINSBURG — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey spoke on a variety of topics during a Wednesday press conference from his office’s Eastern Panhandle Consumer Protection Office.
Morrisey, who lives in the Eastern Panhandle, spoke about the status of the state’s opioid litigation, the Inflation Reduction Act and a 21-state coalition he is leading in challenging a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rule that would add onerous requirements for investment funds that consider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors in their investment decisions.
Morrisey said he and Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron led a 17-state coalition that sent a letter August 23 to financial services firm Morningstar about reports that the company — through subsidiary Sustainalytics — might be furthering the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
According to the AGs’ letter, “BDS is an anti-Semitic campaign to intimidate the Jewish people and delegitimize the State of Israel. The movement advances these aims through academic, cultural, and economic initiatives that punish people and firms for doing business with Israel. According to the co-founder of BDS, it ‘oppose[s] a Jewish state in any part of Palestine.’ Another anti-Israel activist explained that ‘[t]here’s no Israel. . . . That’s what [BDS is] really about.’”
“The United States has no better friend in the Middle East than the state of Israel,” Morrisey said in a press release about the letter. “The states represented in this letter stand with that nation and with the Jewish people.
“It is why 35 states to date, including West Virginia, have adopted laws, executive orders or resolutions in opposition to BDS. All of us must stand in unified opposition to any effort to promote it.”
During his Wednesday press conference, Morrisey spoke more about the issue.
“This is unacceptable,” Morrisey said. “We’re not going to tolerate these companies that think they can be really political and engage in things that potentially break state law to come in and think they’re political agenda is not going to be caught.
“If you’re going after one of our allies, Israel, that’s a huge problem. You’re going to see this theme that a lot of companies who are trying to advance woke policies are trying to move very deeply into the political arena. And they don’t think that states are going to respond.
“Well, I’m going to tell you, West Virginia is going to respond … to protect our ally Israel against this movement to hurt that country economically.”
Morrisey said he and the other Republican AGs don’t want corporations to be “woke actors.”
Sustainalytics, a ratings and research firm that publishes its findings via a system of risk ratings that in turn influence the investment decisions of government agencies and financial managers. Rather than focusing on investment returns and other traditional financial indicators, Sustainalytics’ ratings grade companies on their purported environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance.
Morrisey’s office said an independent analysis by a law firm of Sustainalytics found many instances where the ratings firm’s assessment of Israel was rife with BDS-like propaganda disguised as ESG assessment. Among other things, the investigation revealed that Sustainalytics had punished companies that do certain types of business with Israel, equated Israel with oppressive regimes, relied on biased data from anti-Israel organizations and assumed that all activities in certain areas of Israel advance human rights abuses.
The coalition of AGs asks Morningstar, which is currently under investigation by 18 states for these same practices, to respond to its questions about Sustainalytics’ actions by Aug. 31.
Joining the West Virginia- and Kentucky-led letter were the attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
On the opioid front, Morrisey said the state filed its lawsuit against Kroger in Putnam Circuit Court. He also said Kroger hadn’t been cooperative with his office in providing documents.
“We believe it’s important to hold entities accountable for the role they played in the opioid crisis,” Morrisey said Wednesday. “We’re going to be aggressive and make sure everything we do is consistent with the law.”
He also noted the trial against Walmart, CVS and Walgreens is scheduled for September 26 before the state Mass Litigation Panel.
“We’re proceeding,” Morrisey said. “We’re ready for trial. We’re not afraid of trial, as a lot of people know.
“West Virginia is going to have accountability. When it comes to settlements, we’re not going to accept the population-based formula. We think this problem needs to be addressed based on the intensity. And it was felt most acutely in West Virginia.
“I am hopeful we’ll see a similar result as we’ve seen in the past with manufacturers. We need to fix this problem that has really hurt West Virginia and her citizens.”
Morrisey also addressed the Inflation Reduction Act that recently was passed by Congress and signed by President Biden.
“This is a horrible piece of legislation,” Morrisey said. “Yes, there are tax increases. Coal is disproportionately harmed by the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s going to put people out of work in West Virginia.
“Yes, there are some aspects that might be helpful. But overall, this is a really bad bill for West Virginia and our country.”