In a recent development, tax filings have revealed that a major left-wing dark money nonprofit organization, managed by Arabella Advisors, wired millions of dollars to a private law firm, Sher Edling, in 2022 alone. The law firm has been spearheading climate litigation against the oil industry on behalf of Democrat-led cities and states. This revelation has raised concerns about the involvement of progressive donors in funding Democrat law firms, as well as the participation of Democrat politicians and elected officials in these efforts.
Sher Edling, founded in 2016, has been at the forefront of climate-related litigation, representing several local governments and states, including Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Baltimore, and Honolulu. These lawsuits argue that oil companies should be held financially responsible for global warming and the resulting weather events that impact people and communities. The law firm accuses the fossil fuel industry, including companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell, of deceiving the public about climate change for decades.
One of the key concerns raised is the opaque funding structure of Sher Edling. While the exact sources of funding remain unknown, the law firm has raised millions of dollars from nonprofits that shield the identities of individual donors. This means that anonymous individuals and groups are supporting the climate litigation. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer have expressed alarm over the involvement of radical, left-wing dark money groups in funding Sher Edling’s climate crusade, with the intention of bankrupting American energy employers.
The funding arrangement has attracted scrutiny, and Cruz and Comer have launched an investigation into Sher Edling’s finances. The law firm, however, has defended itself, stating that the donations it receives support its general operations rather than financing specific lawsuits. Nevertheless, the House Oversight Committee plans to continue investigating left-wing funding of litigation.
The tax filings also reveal that the Collective Action Fund for Accountability, Resilience, and Adaptation (CAF), a secretive group sponsored by the New Venture Fund, has wired millions of dollars to Sher Edling. The individual donors of CAF and Sher Edling remain unknown, but past funding has been traced back to organizations such as the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. It has also been discovered that a senior Biden administration official, Ann Carlson, played a role in coordinating fundraising for CAF and Sher Edling, as well as helping recruit the state of Hawaii to hire the law firm.
The revelations surrounding the funding of Sher Edling and its climate litigation have further fueled concerns about the influence of dark money in politics. Critics argue that this demonstrates how the green movement has become a political, financial, and organizational arm of the Democratic Party, rather than a genuine effort to protect the environment.
As the investigation into Sher Edling’s finances continues, the implications of this funding scheme and its impact on the oil industry and climate litigation remain to be seen.
