The South Dakota and Mississippi State Freedom Caucuses are renewing the push for their respective attorneys general to leave the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) following new information from exclusive reporting by Breitbart News that the organization has invested money from public settlements in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments.
South Dakota Freedom Caucus legislators sent a letter to Attorney General Marty Jackley on Monday, first seen by Breitbart News, urging him to leave the national association after exclusive reporting from Breitbart News’s Breccan Thies that revealed NAAG has been using taxpayer funds to invest in companies that promote left-wing ESG goals.
The letter from the South Dakota Freedom Caucus noted that the renewed push for Jackley to leave the organization comes after his colleague, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, revealed NAAG invested the money it has from public settlements into ESG investments that “destroy shareholder value in pursuit of faddish ideological aims, often without proper disclosure to investors.”
ESG investing is a form of leftist activism in the financial sector used to influence the way Wall Street financial firms and corporations, such as BlackRock, continue to take social and political positions that do not relate to their business, much like stances associated with climate change, as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda.
But, as Breitbart News has reported, even though NAAG executive director Brian Kane claims “there is no mention of ESG or any other consideration not consistent with the uniform prudent investor rule” in the organization’s investments, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager that proudly pushes ESG investing, as well as other entities, are listed in NAAG’s portfolio as of December 31.
“This news comes in addition to our previously stated concerns about the increasingly liberal orientation of NAAG’s staffing and mission. We do not believe at this point that it is possible to reform NAAG from the inside,” the group wrote. “We urge you again to leave NAAG and bring home the money sitting there that rightfully belongs to South Dakota’s government and South Dakota taxpayers.”
The South Dakota Freedom Caucus also suggested that their attorney general should “participate in any coming legal action that will secure our state’s interests against the liberal bureaucrats that have taken over NAAG” and indicated that they would be ready to “fully support” Jackley’s effort.
South Dakota Freedom Caucus Letter by Breitbart News on Scribd
Additionally, Mississippi Freedom Caucus legislators sent a letter to Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who is on the NAAG Executive Committee, to also renew their push from last year when they asked her to leave the national organization due to its “financial mismanagement” and its “leftward shift.” However, this time, the group indicated that it was also due to the same reporting from Breitbart News the South Dakota Freedom Caucus mentioned.
“The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is in the news again, this time because it was caught investing money from public settlements in ESG investments,” the group wrote. “You are on the NAAG Executive Committee. But these ESG investments only came to light because your new conservative colleague … Kobach.”
“If NAAG is investing in left-wing ESG campaigns behind your back, what else are they doing without your knowledge,” the Mississippi Freedom Caucus questioned. “What else is out of your control at NAAG? What else is the left-wing career staff in Washington, D.C. doing in conjunction with NAAG leadership from places like Oregon, New York, and Connecticut?”
Acknowledging that the group asked for Fitch to leave NAAG once before, the group of legislators from the Mississippi Freedom Caucus demanded that “it is time for [Fitch] to quit NAAG and take legal action to protect our public money” and that the “charade of reforming NAAG from the inside is over.”
“It is obvious to everyone that the time for legal recourse is coming; it is time for you to stop being on the sidelines, hew to your conservative principles, withdraw from NAAG, and bring our millions home, no matter what it takes.”
Mississippi Freedom Caucus Letter by Breitbart News on Scribd
Andy Roth, the president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, exclusively told Breitbart News that “NAAG is primarily composed of woke unelected bureaucrats who have repeatedly shown they are more interested in supporting leftist policies — literally at the expense of the American taxpayer. The latest revelations only make you wonder what else they’re doing behind closed doors. We urge all state AGs to reconsider their support for this organization.”
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.