Well over $100,000 in legal bills to get the truth
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
After nearly two years of legal battling — and some very large legal bills — The Intercept just got a favorable ruling that brings us closer than ever to getting the truth about the brutal crackdown on protests against the Dakota Access pipeline led by the Standing Rock Sioux.
The North Dakota Supreme Court just unanimously ruled that 60,000 pages of documents about pipeline company Energy Transfer and its private security firm, TigerSwan, are subject to the state’s open records laws.
But Energy Transfer won’t admit defeat.
With nearly unlimited resources, the oil giant is committed to exhausting every possible appeal. It’s continuing to expend enormous legal efforts to prevent the release of these records — and driving up our costs well into the six figures.
If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
When members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe led protests against the 1,172-mile-long Dakota Access pipeline, the crackdown was ruthless.
Pipeline owner Energy Transfer hired TigerSwan, a private security firm led by a former commander of the elite Army unit Delta Force. That firm conducted aerial surveillance, monitored communications, infiltrated activist circles, and coordinated with law enforcement agencies.
The Intercept sued under state open records laws to gain access to thousands of pages of documents that could shed light on TigerSwan’s activities, but Energy Transfer’s lawyers have fought us every step of the way.
As an oil pipeline company, Energy Transfer has far deeper pockets than we do. It hired Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, a law firm known for aggressive tactics and founded by one of former President Donald Trump’s longtime attorneys.
As far as we’ve come, we know that this final phase of the legal battle won’t be cheap or easy.
Thank you,
The Intercept team
First Look Institute is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax ID number 80-0951255).
The Intercept’s mailing address is:
First Look Institute
P.O. Box 27442
Washington, DC 20038
The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept’s readers, but if you’d like to stop hearing from us, click here to r0 from all communications. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Contribute now to support our independent journalism.
